Corporate One Federal Credit Union, an industry leader in immediate payments, and CU*Answers, a leading credit union service organization (CUSO) based in Grand Rapids, Mich., today announced a partnership to expand the accessibility of real-time payments for credit unions across the nation. CU*Answers will leverage Corporate One’s Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) for the RTP® network solution to establish a technical RTP connection that their credit union clients can easily leverage so they can receive real-time payments. The partnership has already led six early adopter credit unions to begin the process of joining the RTP network.

“Our partnership aims to empower CU*Answers credit unions to conveniently access the RTP network through a ‘plug and play’ solution, a simplified API connection that can be integrated into a wide range of products, allowing them to confidently advance their payment modernization efforts,” Corporate One President and CEO Melissa Ashley said. “Connecting CU*Answers to the RTP network enables them to swiftly onboard their client credit unions and provide them with seamless access to real-time payments. Partnerships like this one that fuel credit union adoption of immediate payments and help them compete and take advantage of immediate payments’ opportunities are exactly what we hoped to do when we set out on this journey nearly ten years ago.”

The collaboration between Corporate One and CU*Answers began in 2022 when CU*Answers explored the evolving landscape of payment processing for their clients, specifically focusing on The Clearing House’s RTP network. Their search for reliable third-party partners led them to Corporate One, and the partnership leverages Corporate One’s RTP connection capabilities so CU*Answers can focus on building out RTP send experiences desired by their clients.

“When we launched our initiative to add RTP capabilities for our network clients, we needed a partner with plenty of experience to help us navigate these new waters,” CU*Answers CEO Geoff Johnson said. “Corporate One gave us a great start and has not only connected us to the technology for RTP services but has provided invaluable education and the benefit of their experience along the way. And their simplified onboarding process will allow everyone in our network to hook in with minimal disruption to their current operations.”

Corporate One’s RTP TPSP solution forms a crucial connection between the network, Corporate One, and CU*Answers. CU*Answers clients that adopt the solution will then work with Corporate One to finalize their respective connections to the network to become participants. The TPSP solution offers credit unions optimum flexibility to develop the experiences desired by their members.