Press

ST PETERSBURG, FL (September 18, 2014) – PSCU, the nation’s leading credit union service organization, is applying a method historically used by software developers — an all-night, marathon-style innovation competition, known as KnockOut 2014.  The goal was to address new credit union member’s consumer demands and solve today’s most pressing financial service issues in just 24 brief hours. Six semi-finalists were chosen by an esteemed group of judges after teams from PSCU and its Member-Owner credit unions completed and presented their ideas. Following the selection of these finalists, the judging is now open to PSCU credit unions and employees to vote on the winner. And along with nice prizes for the team, the winning idea could be brought to market to benefit PSCU credit unions and their members.

Originally inspired by hackathons – 24-hour software development competitions – KnockOut is an innovative team event that allows credit unions to stay relevant in the marketplace by quickly meeting the needs of today’s consumers. As the third annual KnockOut, this year marked the first time the event was simultaneously hosted in four locations across the country: St. Petersburg, FL, Phoenix, AZ, Allen Park, MI and Honolulu, HI. Grouped into 28 teams, 150 competitors from 11 credit unions and PSCU locations across the country raced against the clock to develop concepts that demonstrated function, feasibility, industry impact, time to market, cost and ROI.

“Great ideas are the currency of our business, and KnockOut is one of the many ways PSCU provides a collaborative opportunity to create new ideas and position credit unions as leaders to their current and future members,” said Fredda McDonald, PSCU’s Chief Creative Officer. “PSCU’s KnockOut is an event unique to our industry, because it provides a hands-on chance for top thinkers in payments technology to ideate with our credit unions– and to develop real-world solutions for their members.”

At the end of the overnight battle, judges from PSCU, PayPal, Visa, First Data, Filene Research Institute and Connect Financial Software Solutions selected the six semi-finalist teams that will advance to final judging by PSCU and its credit unions, before the final winning idea is chosen next week. And those six finalists came up with some unique and potentially game changing ideas:

• The InnoVaders (Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, Falls Church, Va.) – Micro-lending solution to empower members to help other members.
• Tech Attack (Consumers Cooperative Credit Union, Round Lake Beach, Ill.) – Balance transfer app for individuals that safeguards each party’s account information.
• Sliced Bread (PSCU, Phoenix) – Solution that leverages new phone technology to immediately provide consumers with a virtual card when they report their card lost or stolen.
• Glen CoCo (PSCU, Phoenix) – Solution that dramatically expedites the physical emergency card replacement process, targeting the 58 percent of consumers who are unable to get an Emergency Card.
• Revionix (PSCU, St. Petersburg, Fla.) – Online solution to drive auto loans, utilize data to optimize portfolio rate strategy for credit unions and provide insight into willingness to pay.
• Team Pineapple (PSCU, St. Petersburg, Fla.) – Automated push notifications to members who may be impacted by a data breach before the breach is publicly announced.

The winning ideas from PSCU’s two previous KnockOut events include a mobile app that enables members to report their cards lost or stolen (launched at PSCU’s 2014 MoPRO annual conference for Member-Owner Credit Unions in April), and a switch-kit solution that consumers can use to easily transfer their bank account relationships to a credit union.

In the spirit of innovation that KnockOut seeks to inspire, PSCU implemented digital sharing tools and video to synchronize the event across all four locations and enable a simultaneous experience for all participants. Cameras were placed throughout each location and provided around-the-clock live streaming, so viewers and participants could tune in to the excitement and follow in real-time on the KnockOut website. Attendees could also connect with nationwide participants, follow the schedule and track updates through the KnockOut event app.

About PSCU
Established in 1977, PSCU (St. Petersburg, FL) is the nation’s leading credit union service organization (CUSO) and serves more than 1,500 financial institutions nationwide. The company is owned by over 700 member credit unions representing nearly 17 million credit, debit, prepaid, online bill payment, mobile and electronic banking accounts. Comprehensive 24/7/365 member support is delivered through four Contact Centers located throughout the United States that handle more than 18 million inquiries a year.