Tech giant IBM is partnering with blockchain consortium and credit union service organization (CUSO) CULedger to develop new blockchain-based solutions for the credit union industry. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on March 11.

IBM and CULedger will reportedly jointly pioneer solutions using permissioned blockchain networks that will innovate existing business models and processes for credit unions.

These solutions can reportedly improve services such as digital identity authentication, Know Your Customer compliance, lending and payments services, and other consumer processes that require authentication.

Leveraging blockchain will also specifically aim to provide greater financial inclusion by extending access to financial services across the different demographics that comprise the over 260 million credit union members — with over $1.7 trillion of circulating assets — reported to exist worldwide.

The partnership between IBM and CULedger will provide credit union members globally with access to the customizable CULedger-issued digital credential, “MyCUID,” which can reportedly be used to authenticate financial transactions between members of any credit union on the network.

Marie Wieck, general manager at IBM Blockchain, has given a statement outlining that:

“Credit unions will be able to cooperate and receive shared value from quickly exchanging sensitive data in a permissioned, individually controlled and transparent way.”

The first services on the CULedger blockchain network will reportedly be rolled out to credit union members worldwide later this year.

As previously reported, CUSO joined enterprise software firm R3’s global blockchain ecosystem in December 2018, as part of its ongoing efforts to implement the technology to streamline operational processes and mitigate fraud and cybersecurity risks for credit unions and their members.

IBM, meanwhile, continues to develop multiple enterprise blockchain offerings and new patents under the aegis of the IBM Blockchain project, recently launching an in-house security testing tool for blockchain solutions that focuses on improving identity authentication, access permissions and addressing smart contract vulnerabilities.