CO-OP Financial Services announced Tuesday it has been designated by Visa as “an engaged issuer processor” for Apple Pay.

It is the only CUSO to win the status that authorizes it to immediately service the enrollment of credit unions in Apple Pay, according to the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based CO-OP.

Other credit card processors involved with credit unions generally go through an intermediary such as Atlanta-based First Data rather than dealing with Visa directly in regard to Apple Pay.

At CO-OP, the pipeline into Visa is direct, Michelle Thornton, the CUSO's manager of core products, told CU Times.

“CO-OP is ahead of many competing credit and debit processors that have not been granted this designation because they do not have the direct links to Visa as we do,” Stan Hollen, president/CEO of CO-OP, said in a prepared statement.

“We believe Apple Pay presents a unique revenue opportunity for credit unions by providing their members with the latest in digital wallet technology,” Hollen noted. “We are also seeking to bring the lowest aggregated issuers fees to our credit unions.”

Thornton said the engaged issuer processor status “gives us more control over what we can do to get credit unions into Apple Pay.”

To date, the $62 billion Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Va., and the $6.3 billion America First Credit Union in Riverdale, Utah, are likely the only two credit unions that are actually live in Apple Pay.

“We are very close to having a couple of institutions go live,” Thornton said.

Some industry experts are expecting a few dozen credit unions will gain entry into Apple Pay this year.

Thornton said CO-OP expects to get all credit unions in its current queue live in Apple Pay in the first quarter of 2015.

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CO-OP Financial Earns Apple Pay Processor Status

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