Co-op Financial Services has been named by Visa as an "Engaged Issuer-Processor" authorized to facilitate the enrollment of credit unions in Apple Pay. To date it is the only CUSO with this designation, according to a company press release.

Co-op President and CEO Stan Hollen said that the company's "first-mover" status is due to its links to Visa and MasterCard that allow it to work directly with the companies without having to pass through an intermediary."

According to the news release, Co-op has been active with both Visa and MasterCard since the introduction of Apple Pay in September to enroll its clients in the program. The company already has credit unions in the implementation validation process at Visa and MasterCard, and expects many of its credit unions to be in the final stages of testing in December.

"We believe Apple Pay presents a unique revenue opportunity for credit unions by providing their members with the latest in digital wallet technology," said Hollen. "We are also seeking to bring the lowest aggregated issuers fees to our credit unions."

Co-op also has established a tokenization resource center where credit unions can find information about tokenization-related issues, and get answers to questions from subject matter experts.