CULedger has entered into a collaboration with tech giant IBM to develop blockchain services that will benefit credit unions.
The Denver-based credit union service organization said Monday that it will partner with IBM to use “permissioned blockchain technologies to create an immutable audit trail that can be used to create new business models and transform existing business processes for credit unions.”
Under a permissioned blockchain network, CULedger explained, services can be shared among all credit unions. The system will also upgrade services like identification authentication, regulatory compliance around know-your-customer, lending and payments.
In addition, credit union members around the globe can access MyCUID, a CULedger-issued digital credential that observes the privacy-by-design requirements of self-sovereign identity supported by the Sovrin Foundation, an international non-profit that was formed to govern the world's first self-sovereign identity network.
“A cooperative model that helps improve the member experience while benefitting all credit unions is the ideal approach to ensuring the next wave of financial innovation for the credit union industry,” John Ainsworth, president and CEO, CULedger, said in a statement. “We are creating a network through which all members can join and access new services and enabling credit unions to become even more competitive while addressing new market dynamics where members are demanding even more for their financial services provider.”
A recent report from Gartner predicts Blockchain could deliver as much as $360 billion in potential value to the financial services industry by 2026 and grow nearly tenfold by the end of the next decade. The technology is expected to improve safety and efficiency in consumer transactions.
“Credit unions will be able to cooperate and receive shared value from quickly exchanging sensitive data in a permissioned, individually controlled and transparent way,” Marie Wieck, general manager of IBM Blockchain, said in a statement. “This decentralized approach using blockchain helps put the customer in control of their own identity. The work underway between CULedger and IBM will also lay the foundation for new kinds of services and collaboration among credit unions as we work together to scale and extend the network.”
CULedger's blockchain network and services are expected to become available to CUs around the world sometime later this year.
