North American Fintech Coalition

What North American Fintech Coalition does

The North American Fintech Coalition (NAFC) is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization founded in 2023 that operates as an intermediation platform connecting early-stage fintech startups with credit unions and community banks across the US and Canada. Its target market is community financial institutions between $500 million and $15 billion in assets—a segment representing roughly 20% of all assets held by US banks and credit unions (approximately $5 trillion in aggregate). NAFC is built around a "co-development from inception" thesis: member startups design their products alongside credit union decision makers, gaining regulatory guidance, pilot opportunities, and a built-in audience rather than launching into the market cold.

NAFC's service offerings consist of an online startup portal, a structured event program (six virtual educational sessions per year, Meet the Startups/Credit Unions sessions, two regional summits, a national summit, and six to twelve regional socials), and educational programming across data governance, startup implementation, startup investing, and DEI. The coalition comprises 20+ early-stage fintech startups, many led by underrepresented founders, and reports 35+ member organizations. It has established seven regional hubs—Cascadia, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, Southeast, South Central, and Western—with local ambassadors in Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Raleigh.

NAFC is funded through tiered partnership and sponsorship programs (Keystone Partner, Innovation Partner, Collaboration Leader, Community Advocate, Strategic Investor, plus a Cornerstone tier requiring two-year prepayment) rather than traditional equity or grant funding. Cornerstone and foundational partners include BECU (the originating credit union from which NAFC grew out of its fintech incubator), MSU Federal Credit Union, Reseda Group, Gesa Credit Union, WSECU, Salal Credit Union, and Lafayette FCU. Governance is volunteer-driven through an Executive Committee, Advisory Committee, and program committees, with a small paid staff of approximately 8 led by Executive Director Nate Derby and Director of Operations/Marketing Howard Keener. NAFC does not develop proprietary technology products, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

North American Fintech Coalition

Legal name

North American Fintech Coalition

Website

https://namfintech.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The North American Fintech Coalition is a Seattle-based nonprofit that connects early-stage fintech startups with credit unions and community banks (those holding $500M–$15B in assets) across the US and Canada, running an online startup portal, regional summits, and educational events to facilitate pilot projects, investment, and co-development between the two sides.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Partnership and Membership Fees: NAFC generates revenue through various partnership tiers (Keystone Partner, Innovation Partner, Collaboration Leader, Community Advocate, Strategic Investor). Cornerstone Partnership represents deep commitment with prepaid two-year support. Financial institutions receive preferred pricing and enhanced benefits for having executives on the NAFC Advisory Committee.
2. Sponsorships: Corporate and institutional sponsorships from credit unions and community banks that support the coalition's mission. Sponsorship aligns organizations with innovation and community leadership while providing benefits like complimentary event admissions.
3. Strategic Partnerships: Foundational partnerships with major credit unions like MSUFCU and Reseda Group that provide financial support in exchange for access to NAFC events, startup portal, pilot project access, first access to investments, and influence on event planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The North American Fintech Coalition is a nonprofit organization that connects early-stage fintech startups with credit unions and community banks across the US and Canada. It operates a curated online startup portal, hosts a recurring calendar of virtual and in-person events (educational sessions, Meet the Startups, Meet the Credit Unions, Fintech Day, Regional Summits, National Summit, and Partner Pitch Events), and runs structured educational programs covering startup integration, startup investing, data governance/strategy/analytics, and DEI. The coalition facilitates pilot projects, regulatory guidance, and introductions between startups, financial institutions, and investors.

Product overview

North American Fintech Coalition is a nonprofit organization that operates as a coalition/network rather than a traditional software product company. Its core offerings consist of an online startup portal connecting credit unions and community banks with vetted early-stage fintech companies, event programming (including virtual educational sessions, regional summits, and national events), and structured educational programs covering fintech integration, investment, data governance, and DEI. The organization facilitates collaboration between financial institutions and fintech startups through curated introductions, pilot project support, and ongoing networking opportunities across seven regional chapters in the US and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NAFC Events Platform Recurring virtual and in-person event programming connecting credit unions and community banks with early-stage fintech startups. Includes six annual 90-minute educational virtual events (data governance/strategy/analytics, startup implementation, startup investing, DEI), bi-annual 'Meet the Startups' and 'Meet the Credit Unions' showcases, bi-annual Fintech Day training, bi-annual Regional Summits, an annual National Summit held alongside a national credit union conference, and 6-12 regional social events per year.
• NAFC Online Startup Portal A curated online directory of vetted early-stage fintech startups available for pilot projects and investment opportunities, providing partner financial institutions (credit unions, community banks) and investor partners with access to the coalition's 20+ startup roster, first access to pilot projects, and investor-level information.
• Educational Programs Structured educational content covering startup integration, startup investing, data governance/strategy/analytics, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) topics for financial institutions. Delivered primarily through the bi-annual virtual events series (6x/year) and reinforced through Fintech Day training and Partner Pitch Events. Programs were developed in part from feedback gathered from 25+ credit unions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Curql Fund closed over $250M in 2021 and $100M for second fund as of April 2024, demonstrating investor appetite for credit union-focused fintech
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Center for Accelerating Financial Equity (CAFE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 August 2025Collaboration announced August 2025 to expand access to early-stage fintech innovation for credit unions and community banks. CAFE runs a nationally recognized Fintech Accelerator with direct access to financial institutions and investors. Several CAFE alumni including Parlay Finance, Muse Tax, and Prismm have joined NAFC.
• MSU Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2025Foundational partnership announced February 2025. MSUFCU and its CUSO Reseda Group gain access to all NAFC events, online startup portal, first access to pilot projects and proof-of-concepts, invitations to product direction discussions, first access to invest in NAFC startups, and access to event planning. Ben Maxim (CTO) and Meredith Nicholoff (Innovation Manager) serve on NAFC advisory committee.
• Reseda GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2025Wholly-owned CUSO of MSU Federal Credit Union partnering with NAFC to elevate fintech solutions. Reseda Group provides innovation expertise and access to its network for the credit union community.
• WSECUflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey early NAFC advisor partner. Paul Kirkbride, COO of WSECU, serves as key NAFC advisor and emphasized the importance of partnerships in shaping fintech solutions from inception.
• Salal Credit UnionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly NAFC partner contributing to coalition's initial success and growth.
• Lafayette FCUflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly NAFC partner contributing to coalition's initial success and growth.
• Boeing Employees' Credit Union (BECU)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornerstone partner and founding supporter. Seattle-based credit union. NAFC grew out of the BECU Fintech Incubator.
• Gesa Credit UnionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornerstone partner. Richland, WA-based credit union. Andrew Chung, CIO, serves on NAFC Credit Union Advisory Committee.
• Curinos Fintech IncubatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup community partner based in Seattle. The Curinos Fintech Incubator at UW CoMotion is part of NAFC's ecosystem for developing local fintech innovation.
• FinTech ConnectorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup community partner based in New York City. Active part of NAFC's fintech ecosystem.
• Venture BlackcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup community partner. Evan Poncelet, Executive Director of Venture Black, serves on NAFC's Startup Investing Program Committee.
• Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup community partner. Nick Ellingson, Director of Products and Startup Ambassador, serves on NAFC's Startup Advisory Committee.
• Fuse SPCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup community partner. Paul Carlisle, Director, serves on NAFC's Startup Advisory Committee.
• Cascadia FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the Pacific Northwest region. Website: casfintech.org. One of seven regional NAFC hubs focusing on local events, community leadership, and fintech-financial institution connections.
• Mid-Atlantic FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the Mid-Atlantic region. Website: matfintech.org. Hosts regional events and connects local fintechs with financial institutions.
• Midwest FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the Midwest region. Website: mwefintech.org.
• New England FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering New England. Website: nenfintech.org.
• Southeast FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the Southeast region. Website: seafintech.org.
• South Central FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the South Central region. Website: scefintech.org.
• Western FintechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional coalition covering the Western region. Website: wesfintech.org.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global accelerator network; the Techstars Seattle program was a founding lineage for NAFC. Comparable in accelerator/go-to-market scope but operates as a for-profit program with much broader geographic and sector reach.
• BAI (Bank Administration Institute): Long-standing nonprofit providing research, events, and education for the financial services industry. Comparable to NAFC's educational programming and industry-convening role but at a much larger and more established scale across the broader banking industry.
• Plug and Play Fintech: Large accelerator and venture platform with dedicated fintech program including bank and credit union partners. Comparable to NAFC as a corporate-startup connector in financial services, but operates at significantly larger scale and global footprint.
• CUNA (Credit Union National Association): National trade association for US credit unions. Comparable to NAFC's mission of supporting credit unions and providing convening/advocacy infrastructure, but operates as a much larger and more established institution with broader policy and regulatory mandates.
• Curql Fund: Fund co-owned by credit unions that closed over $250M in 2021 and $100M for a second fund. Directly comparable to NAFC's investor-network value proposition for credit-union-focused fintech, but at a much larger AUM scale.
• BankTech Ventures: Venture firm investing in community bank fintech with $115M raised as of 2022 and $40M invested as of Fall 2023. Comparable to NAFC's community bank / fintech intersection but operates a more capitalized venture model rather than a coalition/nonprofit model.

Direct peers

• Filene Research Institute: Nonprofit credit union research and innovation organization. Compared to NAFC, Filene runs a more established flagship credit union incubator (cuInnovation) and provides thought leadership on fintech integration, representing a directly comparable nonprofit accelerator-style entity for the credit union ecosystem.
• Center for Accelerating Financial Equity (CAFE): Nonprofit fintech accelerator focused on equity-building and underrepresented founders. NAFC partnered with CAFE in August 2025; the two organizations share mission alignment (DEI-focused fintech) and overlap in startup pipeline (Parlay Finance, Muse Tax, Prismm) and financial institution engagement.

Others

• Money 20/20: Industry conference and media platform for the fintech ecosystem. Comparable to NAFC as an event-driven community connector for fintech decision makers, but focused on mature-stage startups and large FIs rather than early-stage community-focused innovation.

Emerging players

• MassChallenge Fintech: Nonprofit accelerator with financial services programs. Comparable to NAFC's startup-acceleration and corporate-partner facilitation model, though serving a broader startup set beyond credit-union-focused fintech.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/namfintech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North American Fintech Coalition