PSCU, formerly ''Payment Systems for Credit Unions'', is the largest
credit union
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provision ...
service organization in the United States.
The organization was founded in 1977 and is based in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
.
History
In 1977, five Florida credit unions joined together and founded PSCU.
[ PSCU started a mobile banking platform compatible with ]iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
in November 2009.[ That same year, the company released its CardLock fraud prevention program.] PSCU was the first organization to issue Visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
pre-paid EMV
EMV is a payment method based on a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines which can accept them. EMV stands for " Europay, Mastercard, and Visa", the three companies that created th ...
cards in August 2012. The company hosts an annual 24-hour brainstorming competition which aims to create technology for the banking community that began in 2012.
PSCU announced in February 2013 that the company would be partnered with MasterCard to make the MasterPass technology available to the members of the credit union. The company chose PricewaterhouseCoopers in April 2013 to serve as an external independent certified public accounting firm for auditing and tax services for the company. In June 2013, PSCU opened a data center in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...
. The organization started "Make Your Money Matter," an online and social media campaign that educated consumers on the difference between banks and credit unions, in 2013.
In February 2014, PSCU received a patent for the CardLock fraud prevention system.[ The initiative won an award for best website in the educational resources category at ]South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...
in Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.[ By March 2015, the program covered 250 credit unions.
In March 2015, Chuck Fagan, former president of the Credit Union Executive Society, was named CEO of PSCU. PSCU won a Stevie Award for Contact Center of the Year in the Financial Service Industry in 2015.
PSCU partnered with ]Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...
on electronic educational programs for schools in the United States.
In November 2023, St. Petersburg-based PSCU announced a merger with the California fintech firm Co-op Solutions, creating a new organization with over 5,000 employees and an annual revenue of $1.3 billion. The merger, expected to close by the end of 2023, will integrate the operations under a holding company at PSCU's headquarters. PSCU President and CEO Charles "Chuck" Fagan will lead the new entity, which aims to be the premier fintech solutions provider, enhancing growth and innovation in line with the evolving payments landscape. This development follows PSCU's recent investments in digital technology and the acquisition of Juniper Payments LLC to enhance payment processing speeds.
References
{{reflist
Credit unions based in Florida
1977 establishments in Florida