ALEXANDRIA, Va.–NAFCU has announced it has joined Hyperledger, an open-source, global collaboration effort to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies hosted by The Linux Foundation.
NAFCU said it has become the first U.S. financial trade association to join the project, whose members include more than 160 organizations in finance, banking, information technologies, supply chains and manufacturing from around the globe, including IBM, Cisco, Intel, Oracle, Samsung and American Express.
"We are excited to join Hyperledger and bring together a critical sector of the U.S.'s financial services industry with the world's leading technology firms, all working together in an open-source collaborative effort to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "We believe in opportunities that harness the power of technology and open exchange to prepare for the future. Hyperledger will serve as an invaluable partner during a time when NAFCU's members are innovating to meet the industry's needs."
Hyperledger was established by The Linux Foundation in December 2015 to create an enterprise-grade, open-source distributed ledger framework for users to build and run robust, industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems to support business transactions. For credit unions and others in the finance industry, this framework will support streamlined settlement processes, improved liquidity in the market, increased transparency and better products for consumers, NAFCU said.
"Hyperledger has experienced tremendous growth and development over the past two years, and we are excited to welcome NAFCU as our first financial trade association member," said Hyperledger Executive Director Brian Behlendorf. "We look forward to NAFCU contributing to our vibrant, active Hyperledger community and providing valuable insight to the credit union industry and how our technology can improve the way financial institutions communicate with one another."
NAFCU said its Cybersecurity and Payments Committee will discuss with Hyperledger ways for credit unions to engage with the blockchain community.