It’s CU 2.0 Fintech Friday! Today, Chris Otey sits down with Tunnel to discuss all things credit union, fintech, and digital innovation.
Tunnel is a forward-thinking payment system that seeks to provide better payment rails. Their platform is built on distributed ledger technology (DLT), which has two significant benefits: security and scalability.
The reality is that current payment rails have been around since at least the 80s. Considering how different the world of payments is now than it was then, it’s almost unimaginable to think that we’ve been relying on outdated technology for so long.
Older payment rails have good—but not great—security, speed, scalability, and associated cost. However, Tunnel saw room for improvement.
Tunnel offers real-time, low-cost, secure payments using DLT. DLT allows Tunnel to offer a payment portal (or Tunnel—get it?) that incorporates new security features like two-party authorization, biometrics, and more, which will drastically improve fraud detection.
Plus, distributed ledger technology requires fewer intermediaries than traditional payment rails, which speeds up payment processing while costing much less.
Tunnel’s goal is to address challenges in the financial sector, but that can be a tough market to break into. Much of the older technology is entrenched—essentially grandfathered in—despite its shortcomings. Nevertheless, Tunnel is deploying in the U.S., where their adoption curve is steady and strong.
But don’t worry international market! Tunnel’s coming to you very soon.
If this sounds like an intriguing credit union–fintech partnership, check out the video and Tunnel snapshot below!
Credit Union Fintech Snapshot: Tunnel
Top 3 Problems Solved
- Payment processing
- Fraud detection
- Distributed ledger technology
Tunnel Founder: Frank Makrides
Tunnel Market Strategy
Financial institutions and consumers.
Credit Union Fintech: Tunnel in the News
An interview with Frank Makrides
Interested in seeing more fintech entrepreneurship? Check out the CU 2.0 fintech infographic, Death by 1,000 Cuts. You can see firsthand the impact fintechs have had on the credit union industry, as well as how fintech innovation can improve your income statement, balance sheet, interest margin, services, and more.
Credit Union 2.0 believes fully in the power of credit union and fintech partnerships. With the shared goal to redefine multifaceted financial services models look like to members, more credit unions are looking to partner with forward-leaning fintechs.
If you want to learn more about credit union–fintech partnerships, click here.
