Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union Teams Up with MEMBERS Development Company for R&D Innovation

MINNEAPOLIS - Sept. 22, 2016 - PRLog -- Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union in Plano, Texas, says it sees exploring, testing and implementing new ways of doing business as critical to ensuring its ability to provide member credit unions with the products and services they need. And the Corporate also knows that accomplishing that goal without partners will carry a hefty price tag. As a result, Catalyst Corporate has become an owner of MEMBERS Development Company, which it believes will help it enhance and expand member services by benefitting from R&D economies of scale.

Catalyst President/CEO Kathy Garner says the Corporate, which has more than 1,300 members and serves credit unions in 31 states, looks forward to working with MDC owners to find creative solutions that will enrich its own strategy and service quality. That's not surprising, given a mission statement that highlights providing exceptional member value.

"We emphasize research and innovation at Catalyst, so much that we created a full-time position dedicated to their pursuit," said Garner. "But like most credit unions, the resources we can invest in R&D are limited, while the need to be forward thinking – and forward acting – is great."

MDC, which recently celebrated its 15^th anniversary, provides progressive credit unions with the tools and processes to work together on ways to remain competitive in the financial industry. By joining forces, MDC and its owner credit unions, CUSOs and related organizations seek ways to anticipate consumer demands in a fast-paced technology world, as well as find novel but practical solutions.

"Our aim is to strengthen credit unions by analyzing trends and researching the most cost-effective ways to address emerging issues," said Jeff Kline, MDC's Chief Executive Officer. "We view our Company as the 'million-dollar R&D department for owner credit unions.'"

MDC hosts two Owner Meetings a year – action-oriented educational conferences that not only offer expert knowledge on topics like fin-tech strategies and driving member loyalty, but also allow time for MDC's Innovation Council (comprised of owner credit unions and MDC staff) to share empirical consumer-behavior research.

Garner, who attended her first MDC Owner Meeting in August, along with Amy Fuller, VP of Innovation Strategy for Catalyst Corporate, said the opportunity to collaborate with progressive credit unions is already a tremendous benefit, offering insights into how the Corporate can help its member credit unions remain competitive.

"At Catalyst, everything we do is centered on serving the member-owners, whose investment in the Corporate represents their own commitment to collaborative solutions," Garner said. "Joining MDC allows us to enhance an already strong value proposition both directly and indirectly – whether through the development of new services or through our support of critical R&D that will advance the movement as a whole."

Already, Catalyst Corporate is taking an active role with MDC, with Fuller joining both the Innovation Skills Advisory Team and the Project Advisory Team. MDC typically works on 5-8 active projects at any given time. Owner credit unions and CUSOs suggest and prioritize projects, using a structured project-management approach.

Learn more about MEMBERS Development Company's research and development projects at www.membersdevelopment.com or click on links below.

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ABOUT MEMBERS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

MEMBERS Development Company (www.membersdevelopment.com) is the million-dollar R&D budget for more than 40 progressive credit unions and partners. We look for the ideas our owners have missed while doing their jobs all day. We celebrate new discoveries. We ask the hard questions: "Why have you always done things THAT way? What does the bigger picture say?" While credit unions are busy running the business and putting out fires, MDC is watching the horizon. Our projects are aimed to serve up the must-haves and the must-knows for credit unions. Put simply: MDC believes in research driven BY our owners FOR our owners, and the power of partnership.

ABOUT CATALYST CORPORATE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union (www.catalystcorp.org) is a wholesale cooperative financial institution that serves more than 1,400 member and client credit unions throughout the country. Catalyst Corporate provides its members with core financial services and back-office support, including payment solutions, liquidity, investment options and balance sheet management assistance.