PayOnward, AI-Driven Digital Payments Platform, Secures Backing from Leading Credit Unions

Louis Hernandez, Jr.

​PayOnward, an AI-driven digital payment platform built for credit unions and community-based financial institutions, today announced that they have secured support from some of the nation’s most respected credit unions as part of the latter's investment in private equity firm Black Dragon Capital℠ (“Black Dragon”), PayOnward’s lead investor.
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PayOnward is a company under the Black Dragon Capital℠ portfolio, which enables credit unions and community-based financial institutions to lead the digital payments revolution with a cloud-native, AI-driven platform that simplifies financial operations for SMBs and individual members or consumers. Their modular, white-label solutions for SMBs including Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Bill Pay, along with a comprehensive suite for customers including Bill Pay, Peer-to-Peer (P2P), and Account-to-Account (A2A) — put credit unions at the heart of the payment ecosystem, fostering community connections, streamlining operations, and boosting revenue.

Black Dragon Capital℠ Invests in PayOnward’s Next Growth Phase
Black Dragon Capital℠, founded over a decade ago by recognized technology leaders, is a unique multi-phased investment firm focused on disruptive technologies in high growth industry segments that strengthen economic stability within communities. Black Dragon Capital’s Chairman and CEO was the sole original founder of Payveris, and personally funded its first few rounds of capital. Eventually additional funding sources from the credit union movement such as Vystar credit union became investors and successfully deployed the solutions. Mr. Hernandez was also the Chair and CEO of Open Solutions when the DNA core system was created and launched.

The firm has recently launched the Black Dragon Capital℠ FinTech Limited Partner Advisory Board, an organization comprised of recognized credit union and CUSO investment partners. With renowned industry figures such as Chuck Fagan, President & CEO of Velera and Bill Cheney, CEO of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union taking the leadership role as Co-Chairs, the Black Dragon Capital℠ FinTech Limited Partner Advisory Board focuses on collaboration, innovation and community engagement between the most advanced credit unions and CUSOs in the industry and the intense operating focus and domain expertise of Black Dragon Capital. The collaboration will seek to build the most important and successful FinTech organizations that solve the most significant issues in the industry, creating sustainable long-term businesses and driving strong returns to members and investors in the credit union industry.

PayOnward was initially created to pick up where payments platform Payveris, a former Black Dragon portfolio company which was started and initially funded by Black Dragon Capital Founder and CEO, Louis Hernandez, Jr. himself, left off. It represents the next generation of innovations for credit unions and community financial institutions with a full suite of the latest financial technologies that can address key pain points in AR, bill pay, and member loyalty. At its core, PayOnward is designed to help grow deposits, attract small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), and retain members.

“This investment strengthens our ability to deliver AI-driven solutions that credit unions can trust to compete more effectively in a rapidly evolving digital economy. PayOnward enables institutions to increase deposits, expand business relationships, and deliver modern services that build loyalty with both SMBs and members,” said Cary Strange, CEO of PayOnward.

“PayOnward represents the future for credit unions and community-based financial institutions. Our investment reflects confidence in the team’s vision and the critical role credit unions play in advancing economic stability. We are proud to stand alongside respected industry leaders in supporting innovation that helps institutions grow deposits, strengthen relationships, and better serve their members and SMB clients. With so many payments now bypassing credit unions through third-party apps, and SMBs turning to fintechs for bill pay and AR tools, PayOnward provides a proven way to reclaim those relationships with modern, CU-branded solutions,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Black Dragon Capital℠

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