Corporate One Federal Credit Union (FCU) is one of the largest credit unions in the United States. As a “credit union for credit unions,” Corporate One is a non-profit financial institution providing investment, funding, and payment solutions to more than 700 member credit unions nationwide. Its mission is to help members manage cash more effectively, scale operations, and innovate across digital payments and lending.
Fraud is a persistent and growing challenge across the financial services industry, with credit unions increasingly in the crosshairs. Once perceived as safer due to their community ethos and member-first approach, credit unions are now frequent targets for sophisticated fraud tactics, including impersonation scams, elder financial abuse, and social engineering.
The financial impact is significant. An estimated 79% of credit unions report annual fraud losses exceeding $500,000, with some experiencing multi-million-dollar direct losses. As fraud techniques evolve, so too does the pressure on credit unions to strengthen their defences without compromising member experience.
While regulatory pressure and threat volumes continue to rise, investing in advanced fraud and identity verification technology for online account opening can feel out of reach for many community institutions due to the cost of integration with existing processes. Compared to large banks, credit unions place greater emphasis on personalised relationships and members, so their focus is trying to make every experience frictionless, without compromising on fraud prevention.
Corporate One recognised the need for a robust identity verification (IDV) solution that could make online account opening seamless and hassle-free. Their primary use case is identity verifications for users requesting elevated levels of financial and administrative access to a secure members-only platform. Previously, this process was manual and offline, required notarised forms to be completed and mailed. With ID-Pal, Corporate One FCU can now complete identity verification online in a matter of minutes, enabling safe account opening and reliable identity verification as credit unions could now shift to digital-first onboarding of members.
Corporate One partnered with ID-Pal to transform online account opening and boost fraud defences from the inside out. Together, they implemented a powerful combination of AI-driven biometric checks, identity document verification, and database validation to confirm the authenticity of individual identities.
This approach enabled over 700+ credit unions to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance requirements with confidence, while significantly reducing exposure to identity fraud and manual processing risk.
Available out-of-the-box or via API/SDK, ID-Pal’s platform integrates seamlessly with any tech stack and existing compliance systems and workflows.
ID-Pal successfully supported Corporate One’s ambition to modernise online account opening offered by its member credit unions. The solution provided confidence at scale, helping credit unions move away from legacy, manual processes and keep pace with evolving threats and regulatory demands.
By delivering simple, secure, and effective digital identity verification, ID-Pal helped raise member trust and made safe online account opening achievable.
While credit unions continue to face unique challenges and vulnerabilities, modern and cost-effective solutions like ID-Pal can be implemented seamlessly to transform onboarding, detection, case management, and reporting capabilities.
As threats such as account takeovers (ATOs), AI-driven fraud, and deepfakes accelerate — and member expectations continue to rise so credit unions must ensure they are not left behind. Investing in robust digital identity verification is no longer optional; it is essential to protecting members, maintaining trust, and safeguarding institutional reputation.
