A new partnership between credit underwriting software provider Zest AI and Wyoming’s largest credit union, Blue Federal Credit Union, will enable the institution to provide faster and more accurate loan decisioning across its auto, credit card, and personal loan portfolios.

Blue Federal Credit Union Chief Credit and Risk Officer Jason Buchanan called the partnership with Zest AI “a big win for our members.” He added that “Zest will also allow Blue to reach underserved borrowers across the credit spectrum while maintaining our standards of compliance and credit risk management. The granularity we have access to through Zest is broad and provides all of the features and details we need to explain our credit decisions.”

Zest AI leverages more data and better math to enable banks and credit unions to move beyond the limitations of their legacy credit scoring methods. The company claims that its models use 10x more variables to provide a more accurate picture of borrower risk and empower its financial institution partners to approve more borrowers safely. Blue FCU expects to deploy Zest AI’s technology early next year, and anticipates a 30% boost in loan approval rates as well as the ability to make loan decisions in less than five seconds.

“A Zest-built model gives them transparency, control, and a faster and more accurate decision that approves more members,” Zest AI CEO Mike de Vere said. “Blue’s investment in Zest is really an investment in its community.”

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and founded in 2009, Zest AI is a registered Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) whose credit union customers represent $56 billion in assets and four million members. Named one of Fast Company’s “Next Big Things in Tech” last month, Zest AI won the 2021 Finovate Award for “Best Use of AI/ML” in September. This year, the company forged a partnership with student payment platform Climb Credit, and collaborated with Florida’s largest credit union Suncoast Credit Union. Over the summer, Zest AI secured $18 million in funding in a round led by strategic investors VyStar Credit Union and First National Bank of Omaha. The investment took the company’s total capital raised to $250 million.

With more than 100,000 members in communities across Wyoming and Colorado and beyond, Blue FCU was launched as Warren Federal Credit Union in 1951. The institution merged with Community Federal Credit Union in 2016, and rebranded as Blue FCU. The credit union moved its headquarters to Cheyenne earlier this year, and currently has more than $1.4 billion in assets. Stephanie Teubner is CEO and President.

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South Korea-based Shinhan Bank recently wrapped up testing the use of stablecoins for cross-border transactions. The bank completed a proof-of-concept issuing and distributing stablecoins with an unnamed “megabank” outside of Korea. The two are leveraging the Hedera Network’s Hedera Token Service (HTS) and Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) to make the transfers.

Shinhan Bank will mint stablecoins backed by the South Korean Won (KRW), while the unnamed bank will mint stablecoins backed by its local currency. Under their partnership, customers can buy Shinhan’s KRW-based stablecoin and send them to an account at the other, unnamed bank. The recipient of the funds can then exchange the stablecoins for local currency.

Shinhan Bank opted to target international remittences because it is one of the sub-sectors with the most room for disruption. Cross-border transactions generally cost customers high intermediary bank costs, take three-to-seven days to complete, and don’t allow customers to track the funds while they are in progress.

“International remittances were a massive market of $702 billion in 2020, with $539 billion going to low- and middle-income countries,” said Hedera CEO and Co-founder Mance Harmon. “There is a massive opportunity to cut out the middleman and make this process dramatically more efficient and cost-effective, getting the most money possible to people who often need it urgently. We commend Shinhan and their partner for developing this solution, and are proud that it takes advantage of the economic and speed benefits that only the Hedera network can provide.”

This isn’t Shinhan Bank’s first time leveraging decentralized finance. In March, the bank partnered with LG CNS to create a platform for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The banks has also invested in Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC), a group of businesses that provide digital-asset custody services, and joined the Hedera Governing Council in April 2021.

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Column Tax, a company that offers tax features as a service, unveiled a new tax product today along with its announcement that it raised $5.1 million in seed funding.

The investment, which marks Column Tax’s first funding round, was led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from South Park Commons, Core Innovation Capital, and Operator Partners. The company will use the money to expand client adoption of Tax Filing, an income tax filing API, and Tax Refund Unlock, the tool it is launching today.

Tax Refund Unlock is a product that allows banks and fintechs to offer their users advance access to their tax refunds in monthly payments. Column Tax CEO Gavin Nachbar explained that the new product will help Americans to access their refunds year-round, so that they can “save, invest, pay off debt, and meet ongoing obligations throughout the year, all with greater peace of mind.”

Column Tax is launching the new offering in partnership with Atomic FI, a fintech that offers APIs to drive consumer engagement; and Klover, a fintech that offers free cash advances and financial tools in exchange for customers’ data. With the Klover app, users can unlock access to their future tax refunds.

“Americans should be able to access their money when they need to. Increasing your paycheck by a couple hundred dollars can be life changing for millions of people,” said Klover CEO Brian Mandelbaum. “At Klover, we want to level the playing field by helping consumers get access to fair financial services. We already offer free access to your paycheck, real-time price comparisons, money management and saving tools, and a lot more. This is the next logical step in doing right by our consumers.”

Column Tax is headquartered in California and was founded by Gavin Nachbar, Michael R. Bock, and Shehan Chandrasekera.

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A new partnership between North Dakota-based Cornerstone Bank and Buy Now Pay Later company Credova is the latest example of how bank-BNPL partnerships are becoming increasingly common in financial services. Per the agreement, Cornerstone Bank will do business as Noka and will provide loan origination for Credova, which specializes in BNPL solutions for the outdoor recreation, farm, home, and ranch markets.

“This is the next step in our company evolution, to partner with Cornerstone Bank, a pillar in the banking community,” Credova CEO Dusty Wunderlich said. “It’s not often you find a bank with a nearly 100-year history be so nimble and forward thinking, but that’s exactly what we’ve discovered in Cornerstone Bank.”

One of the ten largest financial institutions in North Dakota, Cornerstone Holding Company, the parent company of Cornerstone Bank, is a $1 billion financial institution with 11 locations in North and South Dakota. Headquartered in Fargo, Cornerstone offers its customers access to business and personal loans, deposits and cash management services, and both online and mobile banking.

“This exclusive agreement furthers our vision of being who people turn to when they are making important decisions about their money,” Cornerstone Bank chairman Gary Petersen said. “Cornerstone Bank and Credova share very similar cultures and approaches to doing business, making this relationship a great pairing. Both organizations will benefit from each other’s areas of expertise.”

Founded in 2018, Credova recently relocated its headquarters from Nevada to Bozeman, Montana. The move, according to Wunderlich, reflected a desire to base operations in “a location that echoed our values and allowed us to continue to lead an outdoor lifestyle.” The POS financing platform offers a virtual card and extended installment financing along with its “Pay in 4” BNPL program that will allow consumers to divide their purchases into four, zero-interest payments. Available as either an on-site or an in-store integration, Credova’s financing platform has enabled merchants to realize a more than 3x increase in AOV (average order value) compared to other payment methods, a more than 51% increase in overall sales volume, and a more than 72% increase in conversion rates. Credova includes 3H Tactical, Big Tex Outdoors, Broadheads and Bullets, and Cedar Pet Supply among its most recent brand partners.