CO-OP PROCESSES 6.6 BILLION TRANSACTIONS IN 2017, SAVES CREDIT UNIONS $131 MILLION IN POTENTIAL FRAUD LOSSES

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – CO-OP Financial Services established a new annual record by  processing more than 6.6 billion credit, debit, electronic funds transfer (EFT) and shared branch transactions on behalf of its credit union clients in 2017.

The 6.6 billion transactions doubles last year’s total of 3.3 billion transactions, with much of the growth attributable to the acquisition of TMG. Full-service credit transactions from clients previously serviced by TMG accounted for 2.2 billion transactions.

“Payments are becoming a foundational part of the member-credit union relationship,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO of CO-OP. “As omni-digital engagement becomes more of a reality for credit unions and their members, CO-OP’s in-branch, online, mobile and digital channels will continue to advance. Our mission is to help the movement’s cooperatives offer the kinds of fast, agile and frictionless payment experiences that earn loyalty and grow income.”

Central to the modern member experience is security, as consumers grow increasingly concerned about the safety and privacy of their personal and financial data, and expectations rise for their credit unions to protect it. CO-OP’s fraud detection and prevention teams saved its credit union clients more than $131 million in potential fraud losses in 2017, according to the company. CO-OP’s fraud-detection system combines technology with the skill and experience of fraud analysts, and the company is in the process of introducing even more advanced technology via machine learning and artificial intelligence to this effort.   

In addition to the transaction and fraud savings totals, CO-OP hit several additional corporate milestones in 2017, including:

• CO-OP acquired long-time strategic partner TMG for $100 million. As a combined company, the two firms bring greater bandwidth for research and development to the movement. Existing credit union partners now have access to a full range of products on one streamlined platform.
• A new executive team deepens management expertise. CO-OP added Nick Calcanes as Chief Information Officer, Matt Kardell as Chief Revenue Officer, Paul Love as Chief Information Security Officer, Matt Maguire as Chief Data Officer, Shazia Manus as Chief Product and Strategy Officer and Dean Michaels as Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships.
• CO-OP Shared Branching becomes second largest U.S. network. CO-OP Shared Branch now totals 5,671 physical locations, making it second only to No. 1 Wells Fargo, which has 6,150 branches. Credit union members have greater access and simplified transactions from more locations. 
• New and enhanced digital products rolled out to credit union members. In 2017, CO-OP launched an enhanced Mobile Locator App complete with rideshare-app integration; announced support for Fitbit and Garmin wearable payments; introduced Mobile Banking 3.0; and is incorporating machine learning into its fraud-fighting system.

• CO-OP announced $26.1 Million patronage to shareholding credit unions. In spite of significant research and development commitments, CO-OP provided a patronage (shareholder dividend) pool of $26.1 million for fiscal year 2016, raising to $393.7 million the total patronage amount made available by CO-OP since becoming a cooperative in 1996.

“One of the more exciting components to our story has been the enthusiastic participation of our credit union partners,” said Clark. “Reimagining the payments experience is something we are doing right alongside some of the most progressive, forward-thinking credit unions in the movement. We’re honored they have chosen to co-create the future of banking with CO-OP.”

For more information, visit www.co-opfs.org.

About CO-OP Financial Services

CO-OP Financial Services is a payments and financial technology company whose mission is ensuring the success of the credit union movement. CO-OP payments solutions, engagement services and strategic counsel help credit unions optimize member experiences to consistently provide seamless, personalized multi-channel offerings, while delivering secure, sophisticated fraud mitigation service. For more information, visit www.co-opfs.org.

Contact:

Bill Prichard, APR

CO-OP Financial Services

800.782.9042, ext. 3450

[email protected]