Ask HN: CUSOs / Working with Credit Unions
I recently learned about CUSOs - Credit Union Service Organizations.
I work for a SaaS platform with many credit union customers. We are not a CUSO. Here is the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) CUSO database: https://ncua.gov/regulation-supervision/regulatory-reporting/cuso-registry
As I understand it, CUSOs are legally separate entities part or wholly owned by credit unions and often formed by credit unions to accelerate specific business needs. Credit unions can also make loans to CUSOs.
I'm looking for an informal chat with anyone in the community that is part of a CUSO or sells to credit unions. 20-30 minutes.
Specifically, I'd like to better understand the credit union procurement process.
- Are these orgs overwhelmingly likely to buy from a CUSO vs. another similar vendor?
- Do they freely evaluate software solutions from non-CUSO vendors or are they restrained by NCUA regulations?
- For CUSO folks, how does CUSO status impact how you do business? Good, bad? Somewhere in between?
Hope to chat with some of you or at least learn from comments here. Thanks!