THREE BLOCKCHAIN SOLUTIONS ‘PUT TO THE TEST

In partnership with TMG and CO-OPFinancial Services, Mercator Advisory Group releases blockchain researchbriefing and evaluation matrix

DES MOINES,Iowa and RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California (October 25, 2016) – As part of theireffort to create clarity around blockchain technology in the financialindustry, Mercator Advisory Group, TMG and CO-OP Financial Services are todayreleasing two blockchain resources for community based financial institutions.The first is a research brief, “Are Blockchain Solutions Ready? ThreeBlockchain Solutions Put to the Test.” It is available at bit.ly/blockchainbrief. The second, a strategic decision frameworkdeveloped by the three companies, is a tool designed to help financialinstitutions evaluate the impact and implications of blockchain solutions. Itis available at bit.ly/blockchainframework.

In June 2016,the three companies developed the strategic decision framework to evaluatethe use cases of different blockchain solutions. Importantly, the framework wasdesigned to evaluate blockchain solutions’ readiness for deployment in thehighly regulated industry of financial services. Using this framework, Mercator’s team of analystsevaluated three blockchain solutions identified in partnership with TMG andCO-OP:

• Evernym, anopen-source global identity network built on a permissioned distributed ledger.
• Guardtime,a suite of products that rely on an immutable ledger to verify the integrity ofsystem files, applications and databases.
• Ripple, ablockchain solution that settles cross-currency payments by directly connectingfinancial institutions.

“Afterreviewing the research briefing, financial institutions will come away with afirm understanding of the common issues our analysts uncovered while evaluatingeach of the three solutions,” said Mercator Vice President of PaymentsInnovation Tim Sloane. “We also provide recommendations for how security, ITand other executives in the community financial institution space can monitorthe development of blockchain solutions. While we believe blockchain is stillin the early development cycle, it’s important for the nation’s credit unionsand community banks to stay aware of what’s happening with these technologiesso they can achieve first-mover advantage when the time comes.”

“Blockchainand distributed ledger solutions present a potential for disruption, andcommunity financial institutions are rightly curious about how the technologiesmay create operational and competitive advantages for their organizations,”said TMG CEO Shazia Manus. “Our collective goal is to make it easier for creditunions and community banks to see through the hype understand the intricaciesof the technologies and rely on us for the real-talk of emerging innovations.This research is exactly that – a succinct report from expert analystsexperienced at distilling large collections of information down to the mostimportant facts.”

Todd Clark,President/CEO of CO-OP, added, “Mercator’sresearch describes blockchain technology and identifies an evaluation checklistand selection process that will be extremely valuable for credit unions as theyconsider adopting the technology. In particular, Mercator’s recommendations aremade in the light of the highly regulated aspects of financial services, whichwill help our clients make real-world decisions about blockchain.”

About Mercator Advisory Group

MercatorAdvisory Group is the leading independent research and advisory services firmexclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. The firm deliverpragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncoverthe most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Tolearn more, visit www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.

About CO-OP Financial Services
CO-OP Financial Services is a financial technology company that supports 3,500credit unions and 60 million members by providing a cutting-edge suite ofcustomizable tools and services. The company was the first in its industry tomerge purpose, innovation and technology to help credit unions advance theindustry mission of people helping people. To learn more visit www.co-opfs.org.

About TMG

TMG is dedicated to creatingcustomized, technology-driven card processing and payment solutions for creditunions and community-based financial institutions across North America.Innovations in fraud management, loyalty programs, alternative payment systemsand analytic reporting, and the competitive advantages they create, have helpedTMG forge a new standard in offering cutting-edge credit, debit, ATM, prepaidcard products and a P2P payment solution. For more information, visitwww.tmg.global.