Alloy Labs Alliance, a group of innovative community banks which includes Chesapeake Bank, announced the launch of CHUCK, an open network for instant payments.
Kilmarnock, Virginia-based Chesapeake Bank, which is primarily a lender to small businesses, is one of the founding banks for the new payment platform, which gives customers “choice and security” when making payments.
“Customers can send money from their already trusted banking application, on desktop or mobile, and let the recipient choose where they want the money to go, including some of the most popular payment networks,” said Alloy Labs Alliance in a statement.
The new network — to be integrated into community banks’ mobile banking apps — will alleviate the need for consumers to move money between apps or log in to their bank account to check their balance just to transfer funds from another application.
“Other payment systems are closed loop, forcing both the sender and participant to use the same service. While there is wide adoption of services like Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle, there is no single ubiquitous payment service,” Chesapeake Bank chief information officer DJ Seeterlin, told Forbes.
“Our vision is to support sending funds anywhere. Our focus includes support for faster payments rails like The Clearing House’s RTP and eventually FedNow.”
Alloy Labs Alliance chose Payrailz, a digital payments company, as their partner in launching this new payment network. The network delivers personalized payments for consumers and businesses in a cost-effective way. “With the introduction of CHUCK financial institutions now have a choice when it comes to providing instant payment capabilities and no longer must settle for a more expensive, restrictive, and closed network,” said the banks.
Julie Thurlow, CEO of Reading Cooperative Bank said, "This is a network for community banks, by community banks. The first product we are launching is an innovative approach to peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. We have an extensive roadmap of applications that will provide community banks with the fast, flexible infrastructure they need to remain competitive over the long term."
"Community banks play an important role in our customers lives," said Joel Westra, first vice president at American State Bank, "and that includes delivering the best digital experiences."
Alloy Labs Alliance bank members participating in the launch of CHUCK are Chesapeake Bank, American Bank, Citizens & Northern Bank, American State Bank, Citizens & Northern Bank, First Northern Bank, Five Star Bank, Mercantile Bank of Michigan, Reading Co-Operative Bank, Servers Co-Operative Bank, and Union Bank.
Founded in 1900, Chesapeake Bank is primarily a lender to small businesses and operates 15 community banks in the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, Williamsburg and Richmond region.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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