Inside Corporate One's Growing Effort to Expand Immediate Payments Nationwide

Ashley said because the solution is flexible, credit unions can evolve their payment strategy on their terms while still maintaining control over their member experiences.

"That value proposition has truly accelerated our growth," she said. "With nearly 150 total RTP and FedNow connections, representing 117 credit unions, Corporate One continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of payments for credit unions of all sizes. What's especially encouraging is how much of that growth has come in the last two years, as credit unions have seen first-hand how immediate payments solve real‑world needs for their members. We're watching members use these rails to move funds instantly from digital wallets like PayPal or Venmo, access gig‑economy wages from services like Daily Pay or EarnIn, transfer small‑business earnings from platforms like Stripe or Square, pull investment proceeds from firms like Robinhood, and manage short‑term liquidity through advances from providers like MoneyLion.

"That's the member value this technology was designed to unlock. Behind the scenes, our strategic integrations with the major core processors have been critical to scaling this growth. We now have engineered connections with eight leading cores, including Symitar, Corelation, Fiserv DNA, CU*Answers, CU‑centric, Vrydia and Flex."

Ashley said these partnerships position Corporate One to onboard more than half of the credit unions in the U.S. with minimal lift on their part, and are a big reason why they've already onboarded 29% of all credit unions receiving on RTP.

"Once a core is integrated into our platform, connecting an individual credit union becomes a streamlined 45‑ to 60‑day process," she said. "Our team collaborates closely with each core to build a standardized three‑step onboarding model tailored to that ecosystem. We call it 'white‑glove onboarding' because we've intentionally removed friction – credit unions get a fast, guided path into immediate payments that feels turnkey and predictable. So, in short, our growth has been both broad and deep: More credit unions going live, more members using the services and more infrastructure built with core providers to scale the movement. And I believe we're still in the early chapters of what immediate payments will mean for credit unions and the communities they serve."

Using its open payment platform, Corporate One enables credit unions to send and receive immediate payments across both rails, with no restrictions on message types or integration models.

Corporate One has established about 150 connections on the immediate payment rails, with more than 60 planned for the remainder of 2026.  

"In 2026, our focus is on scaling immediate payments in three key areas: Expanding core integrations, onboarding more credit unions and enabling send capabilities for our members," Ashley said. "First, we're continuing to grow our core integrations so we can bring even more credit unions onto RTP and the FedNow Service through our turnkey onboarding model. Second, we want to significantly increase the number of credit unions live on both rails. Today, nearly 750 credit unions nationwide are receiving real-time payments on at least one rail, and we're proud to support a large portion of them. But receiving is only the first step. These networks were designed to be fully two‑way, and 2026 will be a year where credit unions begin to move from 'receive‑only' into truly participating in the immediate payment's ecosystem. This leads to our third priority: Expanding send capabilities. Sending is where the transformative use cases really start to unfold. To make this possible, credit unions need their mobile or digital banking provider to support an immediate payment send experience.

"So, our goal for 2026 is simple: Make immediate payments more accessible, more integrated and more useful for credit unions and their members. The demand is here, the use cases are here, and we're making sure credit unions can participate fully and competitively."

Ashey also explained the difference between Corporate One's immediate payments program and other instant transfer programs currently on the market for credit unions, in particular the Jack Henry Rapid Transfers solution from fintech and core processor Jack Henry.

"The difference is that Corporate One provides the technical infrastructure, settlement capabilities, and strategic guidance to help credit unions build their own products and services on the immediate payment rails," Ashley said. "Our platform is designed to move instant payment transactions in a wide range of use cases – loan disbursements, A2A transfers, P2P, small‑business payments, vendor payments, wallet activity and more – and we help credit unions customize those experiences in the ways that best meet their members' needs. To be clear, both approaches have value. They just solve different problems. Jack Henry's product reflects the capabilities of the debit networks, but its solution is fundamentally different from Corporate One's offerings, which use the immediate payment rails."

The industry as a whole is "seeing tremendous innovation across the immediate payments ecosystem, and Corporate One – along with other vendors – is helping credit unions turn that innovation into practical, high‑value outcomes," Ashley said. "The most meaningful progress is emerging where the core strengths of immediate payments –speed, finality and 24/7 availability – directly support credit union priorities such as growing deposits, improving liquidity, enhancing the member experience and operating more efficiently. "Industry leaders are focusing on use cases that help credit unions grow deposits, strengthen liquidity management and stay competitive as relevant financial partners. Real‑time loan disbursements, account‑to‑account transfers, small‑business and B2B payments, wallet funding and defunding, and even mortgage‑related settlements are already moving instantly to consumer and business accounts. In many ways, these are the same everyday payment activities credit unions already support – now delivered with far more certainty, transparency and efficiency. Overall, the landscape is shifting from simply enabling immediate payments to fully optimizing them. Capabilities are expanding quickly, giving credit unions more tools than ever to modernize their payment strategies and compete with confidence in a real‑time world."
Corporate One has $7.6 billion in assets and serves more than 730 credit unions nationwide.

Joyce Moed can be reached at joyce.moed@arc-network.com.