Catalyst Acquires Strategic Ownership Stake in Neural Payments to Accelerate Payments Innovation for Credit Unions

Catalyst today announced that it has acquired a strategic ownership stake in Neural Payments, a leading digital payments innovator focused on delivering fast, secure payments. The investment deepens an existing relationship between Catalyst and Neural Payments and reinforces Catalyst’s long-term commitment to delivering a modern, end-to-end digital payments platform for credit unions of all sizes.

The investment will allow Neural Payments to accelerate critical development and innovation work while giving Catalyst the ability to directly influence the partnership’s product roadmap in alignment with credit union needs. Neural Payments solutions will play an integral part in Catalyst’s effort to unify digital, instant and traditional payment capabilities into one cohesive payments solution through Catalyst’s Open Payments Hub.

“Catalyst has always been focused on building the infrastructure credit unions need to compete – today and in the future,” said Bruce Fox, Catalyst President and Chief Executive Officer. “In Neural Payments, we saw an opportunity to accelerate payment innovation for the credit union industry, tying together Catalyst’s existing payments ecosystem and financial technology investments with the new ideas and extensive digital banking partnerships Neural Payments had established.”

Deepening a proven strategic relationship
Catalyst and Neural Payments previously partnered to deliver embedded digital payment capabilities within mobile and online banking environments. The new ownership stake reflects Catalyst’s confidence in Neural Payments as a longterm strategic partner and strengthens Catalyst’s ability to align digital experiences with backoffice payment rails, data access and settlement capabilities.

The combination of payment capabilities from Neural Payments and Catalyst gives credit unions access to a modular digital payments platform that can support peer-to-peer, one-to-many payouts, instant payments and future payment use cases – all without the friction traditionally associated with mobile and online banking integrations.

Accelerating the payments roadmap
Catalyst and Neural Payments are aligned on a multiyear roadmap that will unlock expanded value for credit unions, no new integrations or partners necessary.

Key roadmap initiatives include:

• Expanded instant payment use cases, including realtime funding and payouts for consumer and business transactions
• Enhanced support for auto lending and dealer payments, enabling faster settlement and improved competitiveness at the point of sale
• Business disbursements and outbound payments embedded directly within digital banking experiences
• Future-ready digital wallet capabilities, including support for emerging payment models such as stablecoin and tokenized value, as market demand evolves
• Continued expansion across multiple payment rails, ensuring seamless access to FedNow, RTP, ACH, wire and debit and credit networks through a unified digital interface

These initiatives build on Catalyst’s existing payments infrastructure and its strategy of serving as the connective layer between digital channels, payment rails and settlement systems.

Catalyst at the center of the payments ecosystem
Catalyst has been engaged on a long-term strategy of assembling a holistic payments platform for credit unions through a combination of proprietary technology, strategic partnerships and targeted investments. Catalyst’s innovative leadership allows credit unions to access enterprise-grade payment solutions using a unified interface, while maintaining control, flexibility and a positive member experience.

“This isn’t about a single product or rail, it’s about building a futureready payments foundation,” Fox added. “We’re ensuring that credit unions can deliver the same sophisticated digital payment experiences as the largest banks, while maintaining the cooperative values that set them apart.”

“Catalyst has been an ideal strategic partner from the beginning,” said Mick Oppy, Neural Payments Co-founder and CEO. “This investment reflects a shared vision for the future of digital payments and allows us to move faster in delivering embedded, realtime payment experiences that credit unions