Why blockchain consortia give credit unions a stake in the future

Blockchain's suitability as a business tool is certainly something credit unions must decide. But the recent article "Are credit unions ready to do more than dip a toe into distributed ledger?" by W.B. King omits the very point of NAFCU's decision to join the multi-sector, global consortium Hyperledger: to give credit unions a seat at the table where distributed-ledger technologies are being studied and tested. These technologies promise to be transformative for the financial sector, and including credit unions in their development gives them a stake in the future.

As King suggests in this piece, the more entrants there are, the more disruptive blockchain will be in the marketplace. This is precisely why it's so important that credit unions have a role in its development, whether it be through Hyperledger, CULedger or any other consortia (which NAFCU continues to evaluate) that are focused on building technologies that could shape the future of our business.

As murky as this subject may seem now, the numerous industries and companies studying and investing in blockchain technologies understand that collaboration is essential for developing viable use cases. NAFCU's goal is to ensure that credit unions don't miss out on these opportunities, which may yield solutions for achieving improved efficiencies, speed and safety in operations and member transactions. We want to facilitate the journey. Credit unions have always put the consumer first, and we expect that sensibility will inform credit unions' decisions regarding blockchain.