NEWPORT BEACH, CA (April 19, 2019) — The National Association of Credit Union Services Organizations (NACUSO), the only trade association focused on growing and protecting the CUSO movement recognized four outstanding CUSOs and one collaborative credit union at the 2019 NACUSO Network Conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego this week.
NACUSO understands the importance that collaboration and innovation play in building a strong and vibrant credit union industry. The CUSO of the Yearaward has been in place since 1998 and has recognized such legendary CUSOs as the CO-OP Shared Branch network, CU Direct, CU*Answers, CUSO Financial Services, PSCU and CU*NorthWest. Last year’s winner was The Servion Group. This year’s winner is Member Access Processing. As the nation’s largest aggregator of card services for credit unions, Member Access Processing has been a stable and trusted card-processing services partner for the country’s largest and smallest credit unions for more than 20 years. With quality service at its core, MAP provides its client credit unions the unique opportunity to leverage the Technology, Security, and Service of Visa DPS for their members.
“We had so many great nominees for awards this year that we continued the runner-up to the CUSO of the Year category, so we could recognize additional outstanding CUSOs,” said Jack Antonini, President/CEO of NACUSO. The runner up for CUSO of the Year is Member Driven Technologies. In 2003 this CUSO started as a discussion between Michigan credit unions with a similar desire of sharing IT costs. These credit unions decided to combine their efforts and create an organization, acting as the initial owners as well as the primary funding source for the start up.
“The criteria for both awards were selected to recognize those organizations that are making a significant difference and contribution to our industry,” explains Antonini. “In 2016 we added a category for CUSOs that are fairly new in operations, The New CUSO of the Year Award, recognizing CUSOs that have started in the past 5 years. We know that it takes time to grow the business so our goal is to showcase those efforts that we believe have real staying power and are already making an impact.” Last year’s winner was OnApproach.
This year’s winner is Constellation, who also won the 2017 NACUSO Next Big Idea Competition. “We are honored to be chosen as this year’s winner of the New CUSO of the Year Award,” said Constellation Founder and CEO Kris Kovacs. “It’s very rewarding for us to have NACUSO recognize all of our accomplishments so far. Constellation went from a big idea to a real solution for credit unions thanks to the support we felt from the entire industry. There’s still more to come and we can’t wait to share what’s next.”
“We also selected a runner-up for New CUSO of the year because CULedger is creating the premier platform of digital exchange for financial cooperatives globally,” Antonini explained. “We just had to acknowledge CULedger as it’s such a unique CUSO model that has pioneered new developments related to global self-sovereign digital identity that will further enhance the trust credit unions have with their members.”
Congratulations to all the winners.
The National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO) is a leading advocate for the credit union movement, dedicated to advancing innovation, collaboration, and sustainability within the industry. With a diverse membership representing a wide range of credit union service organizations, NACUSO is committed to driving positive change and empowering credit unions to thrive in a dynamic financial landscape.
Rebecca Isaacs
505-270-1303
Head of Sustainability
