The effort to create a new technology standard for integratingsoftware among credit unions and their vendors is about to take amajor step forward with the launch of its first beta.

In the next couple weeks, the $1.6 billion Baxter Credit Unionin Vernon Hills, Ill., expects to integrate its loans, savings andchecking data from its Symitar Episys core processing system with member card datafrom PSCU into the MoneyDesktop personal financial management solution.

The result is expected to be an aggregated, real-time look at amember's personal finances to help the credit union serve as aprimary financial institution. And what's expected to be the firstof many successful uses of the new CUFX standard, its creatorssaid.

While the technology itself bears some resemblance to thelong-used OFX standard that Intuit developed to download homebanking data into its Quicken solution, there are some criticaldifferences.

“What we're trying to do is get away from proprietaryintegration and make it so that any credit union can easilyintegrate with any third party without having to write stuff foreach and every core processing vendor,” said Jeff Johnson, chiefinformation officer and senior vice president at BCU.

Once the beta passes muster at his credit union, Johnson said,the next step will be to work with BCU's marketing staff to preparefor what's expected to be a rollout to members in June.

“This is all geared toward members,” Johnson said. “With all theconcerns about financial literacy and budgeting and better managingfor retirement, this was a good place to start.”

The CUFX group just had a kickoff call for new membershipspecifications, and plans to have two face-to-face meetings inChicago in May to work on those, Johnson said.

The project is being helped along by the CUNA Technology Counciland already has about 20 participants, including vendors, creditunions and consultants.

“Participation is growing,” said Johnson, vice chair ofthe council's technology committee and the 2012 Trailblazer CIO of the Year from Credit UnionTimes. “This is all credit union driven and governed.We're working to create a free standard that anyone who serves thecredit industry should hop on.”