The 359,000 members of the $2.9 billion Mountain America Credit Union in West Jordan, Utah, are among the first to be offered a new online payment alternative.

The Secure Vault Payments network allows users to make payments to online merchants and billers through secure, real-time ACH transactions. It's being provided by online banking software provider Jwaala of Austin, Texas, and eWise, a Denver-based payment switch operator.

The SVP network was launched last year by NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association and eWise as an alternative to PayPal and similar services.

The service allows the user to select the SVP payment option on a merchant's site, which then directs them to their online banking site to log in and make the payment.

The companies claim the integrated service is the only payment option of its kind that does not require consumers to provide confidential information, which typically is stored at merchant sites.

Mountain America is one of about 20 credit unions using the Jwaala online banking platform and has been live since May, the company said. The SVP payment option is being offered to the rest of the customers and a mobile version is being developed, Jwaala said.

NACHA said it represents about 11,000 financial institutions through 18 regional payments associations and direct memberships.

eWise said it operates in the United States, England, China and Australia and has a number of top 50 financial institutions as customers of its electronic payments services.