Keith Riddle of Payfinia and Steve Bone of MAP on putting FedNow and RTP inside more than 100 credit unions without replacing anybody’s core.
Payfinia, a credit union service organisation that supplies embedded instant payment and digital wallet services, announced a partnership with Member Access Processing on 17 July 2026. MAP is also a credit union service organisation and provides the Visa DPS debit, credit, ATM and digital payment processing platform to credit unions across the United States. Under the partnership, MAP’s network of more than 100 credit unions gains access to Payfinia’s Instant Payment Xchange platform, which moves money in real time over the FedNow Service and the RTP network.
The rollout is phased. It starts with foundation work, technical discovery and the identification of early adopters, moves to early-adopter deployments, and then widens across MAP’s network. The two organisations also plan to work together on marketing, technical enablement and co-branded educational material.
The Fintech Times put seven written questions to both chief executives, Keith Riddle of Payfinia and Steve Bone of MAP. They answered separately rather than jointly, so both answers to each question are published here, in the order the two companies supplied them.
1. What gap in credit unions' payment capabilities led Payfinia and MAP to partner, and why now?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
Both MAP and Payfinia are focused on delivering world-class money movement experiences to credit union members. For more than 28 years, MAP has served as a credit union advocate in payment processing, as the leading provider of the Visa DPS debit, credit, ATM, and digital payment processing platform, helping credit unions serve members and grow card portfolios. Cloud and API capabilities now make it possible to integrate advanced money movement experiences faster and more cost-effectively.
The gap we saw was between the real-time, member-first experiences members increasingly expect and the practical ability of credit unions to deliver them without a costly platform overhaul. Together, MAP and Payfinia bridge debit, credit, and real-time payments into a seamless solution connected to the credit union’s core and digital channels. This partnership strengthens MAP’s long-standing mission of challenging payment boundaries, and the timing reflects the maturity of the FedNow and RTP networks and the readiness of the technology to embed them without disruption.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
Credit unions should not have to choose between innovation and continuity. Members already move money instantly through fintech and big-bank apps, while many credit unions cannot offer the same real-time experience without replacing trusted systems. Payfinia was built to close that gap through the Instant Payment Xchange (IPX), an open payment framework certified on the FedNow and RTP networks that lets credit unions add instant payments, QR code payments, and a comprehensive disbursement module alongside the platforms they already run. We also provide a method for credit unions to preserve interchange income and deepen digital engagement through the Paze digital wallet service.
MAP brings distribution and scale to credit unions and decades of payments trust; Payfinia brings the next-generation payment technology and modern rails. Now is the moment because the rails are live, the member expectation is set, and, critically, the integration can be delivered with zero core or digital platform replacement expense. That combination did not exist before.
2. How does the IPX platform connect credit unions to the FedNow Service and RTP networks in practice, and what does “embedded” mean for a credit union’s existing technology stack?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
“Embedded” means an integrated, frictionless UI and UX within the credit union’s existing digital experience. Members access real-time payment capabilities through the same native channels they already use for every other service. There is no separate app, no bolt-on portal, and no disruption to the member's familiar journey. For the credit union, embedded means the new capabilities appear as a natural extension of the digital and business banking environment MAP clients already operate.
That is the essence of what MAP and Payfinia set out to deliver: modern payment capabilities without disrupting the institution’s existing technology stack. Credit unions preserve their independence and their cooperative mission while gaining real-time functionality that looks and feels like their own.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
In practice, IPX acts as an open payment framework that sits alongside the credit union’s core and digital banking. Think of it as a modular framework rather than a rip-and-replace. When a member initiates a payment in mobile or online banking, IPX routes it to the appropriate real-time network, selecting FedNow or RTP, and funds settle in seconds, 24/7/365. Both networks are live for send and receive today, with ACH messaging and additional rails on the roadmap.
“Embedded” on the technology side means the credit union designs and integrates unique plug-in payment services through IPX’s APIs, with no legacy platform replacement required. The institution keeps its existing core (the architecture supports common cores and digital banking providers) and simply gains modern rails on top. This allows a credit union to go live quickly and affordably, and it is why the entry point can be digital banking, business banking, bill pay, eCommerce, or a lending system without re-architecting the stack.
3. Instant payments raise the stakes on fraud. What layered fraud controls sit within the platform, and how do they work at the moment of a real-time transfer?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
Instant payments build on the fraud protections already surrounding checking and debit transactions, an area where MAP has deep expertise as a payment processor. Rather than treating real-time payments as a silo, MAP and Payfinia connect those front-end and back- end fraud controls to provide protection at the member level, not just at the level of an individual transaction.
That member-level view matters because irrevocable, real-time settlement leaves no room for the recovery window that slower rails allow. By linking the controls that already protect a member’s card and account activity to the new instant payment flows, we give credit unions a consistent, holistic picture of member behaviour and risk across every payment type.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
Fraud protection is engineered into IPX as a native, layered capability, not an afterthought, and it is delivered through the IPX Admin Console. At the moment a real-time transfer is initiated, the payment passes through a sequence of controls: velocity controls set per- transaction and daily limits by member, account type, or rail; a real-time fraud rules engine applies behavioural scoring against configurable thresholds and can flag or block a suspicious payment instantly; and pre-payment account verification confirms recipient account validity to reduce fraud and failed payments.
Every transfer is then written to an audit log with regulator-ready reporting, and the platform layers in AML and OFAC screening. Because IPX orchestrates across both FedNow and RTP with unified fraud controls, the same protections and payment orchestration apply consistently across both real-time rails. The result is secure embedded payment experiences with layered fraud controls, delivered at the decisive moment, before funds leave the
institution.
4. How will the phased rollout across MAP’s network of more than 100 credit unions proceed, and what will determine which institutions go first?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
MAP and Payfinia are defining the combined value proposition and beginning conversations with clients now. MAP has always prioritised its clients’ needs, and those priorities will shape the delivery roadmap and determine where we focus first. We are mapping opportunities by each institution’s technology stack (core and digital banking) so that early deployments align with readiness and member impact.
As outlined in the announcement, the rollout is deliberately phased: it begins with foundation work, technical discovery, and early-adopter identification, followed by early-adopter deployments and then broader scale across MAP’s credit union network. Client demand and readiness, not a fixed schedule, will guide the sequence.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
The phased approach lets us prove value with early adopters and then scale with confidence. Institutions that already have a clear, high-impact use case (for example, instant loan disbursements through a lending-system integration, or Paze enablement to defend digital wallet share) are natural candidates to go first, because the return is immediate and measurable. We also offer a unique Zelle enablement model that allows the credit union to designate Payfinia as their technical integrator, resulting in significant payment operations enhancements and greater flexibility to integrate unique risk mitigation services.
Practically, the first movers will be credit unions whose priorities line up with capabilities that are live today and whose technology environment supports rapid deployment. Since IPX requires no core or digital platform replacement, the gating factor is business readiness and appetite rather than heavy engineering, which lets us move quickly with the institutions that are ready to lead.
5. Which use cases do you expect members to adopt first, whether instant loan funding, disbursements, digital wallets or QR code payments, and why?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
We expect adoption across a broad range of digital payment capabilities. The ability to deliver a full suite (Paze digital wallet, instant payment services, the Payments Control Module, instant loan disbursements, and QR code payments) was central to why we formed this partnership. Our focus is on giving credit unions the flexibility to respond to where their members see the most value, rather than prescribing a single path.
Different institutions will start in different places depending on their membership and portfolio. What matters is that MAP clients can choose the use case with the clearest member benefit and the strongest business case for them, knowing the rest of the suite is available as they grow.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
We anticipate instant loan funding and disbursements leading to early adoption, because the value is concrete and quantifiable. Funding a loan the moment it closes (auto dealer proceeds, personal and HELOC funds, even real estate closings within RTP’s $10 million transaction limit) removes the one-to-two-day ACH wait that pushes members towards fintech alternatives. For example, credit unions funding 500 or more auto loans monthly could save an estimated $179,000 to $314,000 annually by migrating off checks, wires, and ACH, and dealers route more deals to institutions that fund instantly.
We also expect strong interest in Paze digital wallet enablement (the bank-owned wallet that helps credit unions defend share against Apple Pay and PayPal) and in the X9-standard QR code workflow, which lets members pay invoices account-to-account via FedNow or RTP and can turn roughly 3 per cent card interchange into a lower, fee-based model that benefits the merchant, the credit union, and MAP. Finally, the Zelle integration model will be attractive to credit unions seeking a proven framework for P2P and small business disbursements. Each use case creates new fee income while deepening member and business relationships.
6. Credit unions compete with far larger banks and consumer payment platforms. How much of that gap does real-time money movement close?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
A tightly integrated, native money movement experience is essential for competing with larger banks and fintechs. Members judge their credit union against the fastest experience they encounter anywhere, and real-time settlement brings credit unions to parity on the capability that increasingly defines a modern payments relationship.
We believe the MAP and Payfinia partnership gives credit unions a complete and elegant solution to compete more effectively, one that lets them retain members, expand services, and hold their own against institutions many times their size, all while preserving the independence and cooperative mission that make credit unions distinct.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
Real-time money movement closes a large share of the experience gap, because speed is the dimension on which credit unions were most visibly behind. When a member can receive loan proceeds or a disbursement in seconds inside their own credit union’s app, the practical advantage a megabank or fintech once held largely disappears.
Just as important, this partnership advances open architecture and mission-aligned innovation, so credit unions gain that competitive capability without surrendering ownership of the member relationship or their data. Combined with a full suite (instant payments, Paze, QR, and disbursements) and layered fraud controls, it gives credit unions a genuine path to compete on experience, not just on values.
7. What comes next for the partnership beyond the initial rollout?
Steve Bone, CEO, Member Access Processing
We are focused on the opportunities our combined client base is prioritising and turning those needs into solutions. Beyond the initial deployments, MAP and Payfinia will collaborate on marketing, technical enablement, and co-branded educational initiatives that help credit unions understand, adopt, and maximise the value of these new payment capabilities.
Together, MAP and Payfinia give credit unions a new competitive edge, and we are excited to begin those conversations and expand the suite as our clients’ priorities evolve.
Keith Riddle, CEO, Payfinia
The near-term path follows the phased rollout, from foundation and discovery through early-adopter deployments to broader scale, while we continue to expand the capabilities available through IPX. The platform’s roadmap includes additional rails such as ACH messaging and the Zelle Technical Integrator model, which will let credit unions retain direct network ownership without the engineering overhead.
Longer term, IPX is an open framework designed for a growing ecosystem of fintech partners that embed instant money movement directly within their own stacks. As that ecosystem expands, MAP’s credit unions will benefit from an increasingly interconnected payments environment, which is exactly the kind of mission-aligned, member-first innovation this partnership was created to deliver.
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