Launched in 2016, Bonifii (formerly CULedger) is a credit-union owned CUSO (credit union service organization) that saw an opportunity to enable credit unions and other financial institutions to provide their members with an exceptional, omni-channel experience rooted in trust.
For an industry that prides itself on customer relationships, they knew it simply wasn’t adequate to settle for the traditional methods of contact center authentication—asking members a series of not only silly but incredibly easy-to-crack security questions (“What’s your mother’s maiden name? What was the name of your high school?”) to confirm the identity of their members.
Bonifii saw SSI and Verifiable Credential technology as a way to redesign this experience in a way that gives members true control over their personally identifiable information while improving security, the member experience, and the time spent authenticating members. They set out to enable credit unions to issue their members a secure digital credential (now called a MemberPass™) that members can hold on their own devices and show whenever asked to confirm their name and credit union membership—not only through a contact center but every time they walk into a branch or use a drive-up teller service.
In 2018, Bonifii selected Evernym as its technical partner, integrating Verity to power digital credential exchange for their credit union customers and leveraging our Mobile SDK to give members a secure place to store and manage their MemberPass credentials.
In 2019, Bonifii announced the successful completion of its first live pilot, conducted with three credit unions: UNIFY Financial Credit Union, Desert Financial Credit Union, and TruWest Credit Union.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
Early MemberPass holders have commented on the simplicity of the new authentication process. Meanwhile, credit union employees and contact center representatives have seen the time it takes to authenticate a caller drop by about 80%, which can add up to hundreds of hours a month for a medium-sized credit union.
And since that original pilot, they’ve onboarded several other credit unions and have launched the MemberPass Digital Trust Registry™ to help members find participating credit unions and ensure the authenticity of a MemberPass issuer.
Since its initial launch, thousands of MemberPass credentials have been issued to credit union members across the United States. If your organization would like to participate and offer a seamless, KYC-compliant remote authentication experience for your members, visit www.memberpass.com to request a demo.
About MemberPass™
MemberPass™, powered by Denver-based credit union service organization (CUSO) Bonifii, is the simplest, most secure solution to verify credit union members through leveraging touchless, privacy-enhancing technology. The MemberPass app protects credit unions and their members from identity theft and fraud with a member-friendly user experience. For more information, visit www.memberpass.com or email the team at sales@memberpass.com.