The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions inNew York City announced last week it finalized an agreement withCUSO EPL Inc. in Birmingham, Ala., to develop a shared bankingplatform, CU Impact.

The platform is expected to help credit unions deliver financialservices to low-income members in underserved communities.

The CU Impact initiative will combine the NFCDCU’s expertise andexperience in working with unbanked and underbanked consumers withEPL's technology to create a core platform that will support,deliver and measure the impact of credit union products andservices for low-income members.

By aggregating the accounting, compliance and processingfunctions across credit unions, CU Impact is expected to achieveeconomies of scale for member cooperatives, according to the NFCDCUand EPL.

Each year, 90 million Americans living in unbanked orunderbanked households pay more than $90 billion in fees andinterest to payday lenders and other lenders outside of thefinancial mainstream.

CU Impact is expected to enable member community developmentcredit unions to expand affordable banking products and services,and reach more underserved households.

NFCDCU President/CEO Cathie Mahon said in a prepared statementthat CU Impact will enable credit unions of all sizes to share andmultiply the impact of successful local programs and allow theNFCDCU to focus on product and investment innovations with nationalimpact.

The NFCDCU also announced it received a grant of $599,500 fromThe W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., which willenhance the CU Impact platform with the automation of small dollarloans and matched savings accounts.

The CU Impact initiative has been in development since 2013,when Citi Community Development provided financial support andexpertise to determine the feasibility of building a dedicated corebanking system.

Under the terms of the agreement between the NFCDCU and EPL, theNFCDCU will purchase preferred stock in EPL, and EPL will match theNFCDCU investment in CU Impact on an ongoing basis. A softwareadvisory committee of leading community development cooperativeswill prioritize CU Impact software design and enhancements.