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PSCU Payments Index – November 2023 Edition

December 18, 2023 – Today, PSCU – the nation’s premier payments CUSO and an integrated financial technology solutions provider – published the December edition of the PSCU Payments Index, the goal of which is to provide information and insights to help financial institutions navigate the evolving financial landscape to make informed, strategic decisions for their organizations and members.

As we approach the end of the holiday shopping season, December remains a crucial time for holiday spend. According to Gallup, about half (49%) of holiday shoppers will do most or all of their holiday shopping in December. In the December 2023 edition of the PSCU Payments Index, we present the second installment of our three-part Deep Dive series on holiday spending, which includes the results of the Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping period. According to the National Retail Foundation, a record 200.4 million consumers shopped on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Card spending growth for November increased year over year for debit, while credit activity held steady, largely driven by digital spending.

The Consumer Confidence Index increased to 102.0 in November following a consecutive three-month decline, up from a downwardly revised 99.1 in October. November’s increase in consumer confidence was focused primarily among households ages 55 and up, while confidence among households ages 35-54 declined slightly. Consumer sentiment around the expected financial situation over the next six months also rallied in November following a downward trend in the two months prior.

In the Labor Department’s Dec. 12 update, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% in November, bringing the 12-month rate of inflation to 3.1%, a slight decline from October. Decreases in the cost of gas and long-lasting goods offset increases in prices for housing and transportation. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy sectors, rose 4% year over year, up 0.3% from October. On Dec. 13, the Federal Reserve voted to leave interest rates unchanged at their current 22-year high. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for January 30-31, 2024, with three interest rate cuts possible next year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported total jobs increased by 199,000 in November 2023, with most job gains occurring in health care and government. Additionally, manufacturing bounced back with the return of striking workers. The overall unemployment rate for November dipped to 3.7%, or 6.3 million people.

The stopgap government action approved in November extended funding for some government agencies through January 19, 2024, and others through early February. Additional funding requests and discussions will take center stage as we enter 2024, along with requests for funding for border protection and the wars in Israel and Ukraine. As substantial economic impacts are typical byproducts of government shutdowns, we will continue to monitor these developments closely.

“With retailers launching holiday promotions earlier each year, the longer promotion cycle has contributed to an overall slower pace of holiday spending. This year, the important Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping weekend delivered positive year-over-year growth in consumer purchases and transactions in the Goods sector,” said Norm Patrick, vice president, Advisors Plus Consulting at PSCU. “As we approach the final stretch of the holiday shopping season, we will keep a watchful eye on whether consumers continue to spend or pull back, a key indicator of consumer financial health.”

A sampling of key takeaways from the December report includes:

  • Year-over-year growth rates for payment cards were more sizeable for debit than credit, with debit purchase growth up 5% compared to 0.5% for credit.
  • Holiday spending in the Goods sector improved in November when compared to October. Year-over-year growth in purchases for the overall Goods sector was down 0.1% for credit and up 4.4% for debit in November. For the cumulative holiday season, Card Not Present (CNP) growth outpaced Card Present (CP) growth for both credit and debit transactions. For the five-day peak shopping period that includes Black Friday to Cyber Monday, year-over-year Goods sector debit purchases (+5.6%) grew more than Goods sector credit purchases (+3.1%).
  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) increased 0.1% in November, while the 12-month rate of inflation was up 3.1%. Shelter continued to rise and offset a decline in Gasoline. Excluding the volatile Energy and Food sectors, the core CPI index increased 0.3% in November, putting the 12-month Core CPI index at 4.0%
  • Mobile Wallets continue to gain popularity. For November, credit mobile wallet transactions represented 3.5% of overall credit transactions and debit mobile wallet transactions represented 6.0% of overall debit transactions.
  • The credit card delinquency rate for November reached 2.46%, an increase of 13 basis points from October.

    The full report is available for download here.
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Prodigy Names New CTO to Help Lead the CUSO to its Tech Future

December 12, 2023 – Brian Elcock, a veteran of business technology, has joined the Prodigy team as its new Chief Technology Officer. This is a brand new role for the leading cloud-based core CUSO. While new to the credit union market, Elcock is no stranger to technology. Prior to joining Prodigy, Elcock spent nearly nine years at Dynata, a digital marketing data platform provider. He’s also served in a variety of technology-oriented roles in health care, financial transaction, higher education, ecommerce, supply chain management and many other industry
systems. “Prodigy is delivering incredible technologies to credit unions that many larger organizations haven’t had access to,” Elcock said. “I’m eager to bring the team my passion for leadership, technical architecture, system management, technical product ownership, agile processes, system design, project management and business
process automation. Together we can help credit unions advance even further to serve their members as they see fit.”
Prodigy CEO Amber Harsin stated, “Given credit unions’ current environment in the areas of both security and member relevance, we are very excited to bring Brian’s thoughtful leadership and technical expertise to Team Prodigy. His expertise will continue guiding us toward the future of what’s possible for a credit union core processor.”

Prodigy is a core processing and private cloud Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO), featuring a modern browser-based core and an API architecture for simple integrations, so credit unions can choose what business partners they want to use. Prodigy is 100% owned by 24 credit unions from California to New York with asset sizes ranging from $7 million to more than $500 million. We empower credit unions to participate in the direction, evolution and design of
innovative products and solutions. Visit www.CUProdigy.com to learn more.

Media Contact
Sarah Snell Cooke
sarah@cookeconsultingsolutions.com

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Navy Federal Credit Union Partners With Alacriti

The World’s Largest Credit Union Leverages Orbipay Payments Hub

December 7, 2023 – Navy Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest credit union, with $166 billion in assets and more than 13,000,000 members, has partnered with Alacriti, an innovator in cloud-based payments and money movement services, as the platform provider for Navy Federal to enable real-time payments over The Clearing House’s (TCH) RTP® network.

Navy Federal has deployed Alacriti’s cloud-native, ISO 20022-based Orbipay Payments Hub, a payment-as-a-service solution that’s cloud-based and integrates with many banking cores. Orbipay Payments Hub supports real-time payments on the RTP network, ACH, FedNow® Service, Visa Direct, and Fedwire payments, giving Navy Federal a scalable, future-proof platform for payments innovation. By leveraging Orbipay Payments Hub, Navy Federal is able to deliver the convenience of receiving funds anytime—instantly.

“By gaining access to TCH’s RTP network through our payments hub, Navy Federal is able to offer a top-notch member experience and drive operational savings.”Post this

“We are thrilled that Navy Federal Credit Union has joined the RTP Network. Alacriti has been a provider of connectivity to the RTP network from the beginning and will be able to support Navy Federal as it offers innovative real-time payments products to its over 13 million members,” said Keith Gray, Vice President, The Clearing House.

“We are honored to partner with Navy Federal and help them deliver innovative, instant money movement experiences to their members. By gaining access to TCH’s RTP network through our payments hub, Navy Federal is able to offer a top-notch member experience and drive operational savings,” said Manish Gurukula, Alacriti’s CEO.

About Alacriti

Alacriti is a leading financial technology company with a comprehensive money movement and payments services platform dedicated to helping clients accelerate their digital transformation. Built on a flexible, cloud-native framework, Alacriti’s array of solutions allows clients to deliver the money movement experiences and payments innovation that today’s users demand while seamlessly integrating with their internal infrastructures.

Media Contact

Kristen Jason, Alacriti
1 908-791-2916
kristen.jason@alacriti.com
https://www.alacriti.com/ 
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Response to New CDFI Certification Requirements Unveiled by the US Treasury

December 7, 2023 – In a significant milestone for credit unions certified as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), U.S. Treasury shared the new CDFI certification requirements. The official release came after seven years of work, delays, and revisions in response to significant pushbacks from stakeholders, including CUNA, NAFCU, Inclusiv and CU Strategic Planning, to protect credit unions from losing the designation.

CU Strategic Planning is leading the charge in deciphering and disseminating the revised requirements for credit unions. As the foremost experts in credit union CDFI certification and compliance, CU Strategic Planning proudly represents nearly 200 credit unions in CDFI compliance services, having certified 203 credit unions as CDFIs and secured $945 million in award funding. No single organization provides more direct CDFI and grant compliance services to credit unions than CU Strategic Planning. 

Project Scope

CU Strategic Planning analyzes the CDFI Fund’s programmatic and regulatory updates for credit unions that already face heavy regulatory burdens in regular operations. Its team of 35 is methodically breaking down the new requirements with a depth of expertise gained from its 15 years working with credit unions to meet US Treasury CDFI Fund requirements. CU Strategic Planning will be sharing insights with credit union leagues, system partners and credit unions. It is currently working on a credit union CDFI research project with the Filene Research Institute.

CEO Statement of Response

“Our goal is to ensure credit unions retain their CDFI certification while facilitating the expansion of the powerful designation to even more credit unions nationwide,” said Stacy Augustine, President/CEO CU Strategic Planning. “We firmly believe that every community in America deserves access to a CDFI.”

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About CU Strategic Planning

Since its founding 15 years ago, CU Strategic Planning has become the No. 1 CDFI certification and grant-writing firm for credit unions in the U.S. Through grants, strategic and tactical planningHERO Community Development Financial Counselor training, community summit facilitation and more, CU Strategic Planning achieves its mission to unlock opportunities for credit unions to change lives and their communities. CU Strategic Planning’s funding procured for CDFI credit unions has reached $945 million.

Media Contact:
Sarah Snell Cooke
sarah@cookeconsultingsolutions.com

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ViClarity Once Again Earns Recognition as a Top Global RegTech Company

Seventh annual RegTech100 shines a light on movers and shakers in the regulatory technology

December 6, 2023 – ViClarity’s international team is celebrating the just-released news that the company has been recognized once again as one of the world’s leading RegTech solutions. The RegTech 100 list is curated by specialist research firm RegTech Analyst, which monitors the marketplace for innovative providers addressing the challenges of regulatory pressures within financial services.

The RegTech100 offers a wide view of the key players making waves in the industry. The 2024 list showcases the most innovative and disruptive businesses seeking to help financial institutions manage the fast-paced changes brought on by ongoing regulatory updates and technological advances.

The selection process for this year’s list was said to be the most competitive yet. A panel of analysts and industry experts assessed nearly 1,400 businesses produced by RegTech Analyst.

RegTech Analyst Director of Research Mariyan Dimitrov said, “With a tougher economic climate and the continued rise of AI, financial institutions are re-examining compliance software’s true cost, namely whether a given RegTech solution truly will free up compliance staff for higher-level tasks and whether the software can scale, adapt, and get implemented efficiently. This year’s RegTech100 list highlights the leading companies…who have demonstrated a strong track record delivering regulatory and operational improvements in financial services.”

ViClarity CIO Credits Team, CEO Focuses on Continued Growth

ViClarity founder and Global CIO John “Ogie” Sheehy said, “It is an honor to be recognized and selected as one of the RegTech100 companies for 2024. It is a true testament to the ViClarity team members who work closely together to implement the software, provide IT support, listen to customer feedback and continuously update functionality in conjunction with our partners. All these efforts are to ensure that our system stays up-to-date and relevant for all our clients. A huge thanks to the team and all our partnerships that helped us become one of the top 100 RegTech companies.”

Miriam De Dios Woodward, ViClarity’s Global CEO, is excited about the achievement while keeping her attention focused on the year ahead. “We’re extremely proud to have delivered excellent solutions and support to our partners this year,” she said. “I’m eager to introduce the platform to even more new users in 2024, while we also help our existing clients expand into additional solutions as the complexity of governance, risk and compliance continues to evolve.”

About ViClarity

ViClarity is an award-winning provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management solutions. A global organization, ViClarity has headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, and Kerry, Ireland, and provides services for nearly 1,000 clients in a variety of highly regulated industries. The firm’s flagship technology is a centralized platform that supplies GRC professionals with real-time access to business intelligence for faster, data-based decision-making.

Key platform solutions include compliance managementintegrated risk managementaudit management and vendor management. Many ViClarity clients start with one solution and add on others over time. It’s a unique approach well-suited to the needs of today’s GRC professionals, many of whom are unsure of what to expect when onboarding software and appreciate being able to start small, test and learn and scale as their needs expand.

To learn more about the ViClarity platform, request a demo or visit www.viclarity.com.

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Media Contact
Kelly Moore (for ViClarity)
515-720-9670
kelly@kmprcollective.com