Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services

Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services (CUETS) is a supplier of credit card-related products and services for credit unions, banks, and other financial services providers. CUETS is a member of MasterCard International and services about 500 MasterCard-affiliated organizations across Canada, reaching millions of cardholders through national and international network connections. CUETS is based in Regina, where it employs about 350 people; an additional 150 are employed at the CUETS MasterCard service centre in Winnipeg. CUETS has regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Moncton. In the late 1970s, Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan and Credit Union Central of Alberta (the current joint-owners of CUETS) identified a need within the Credit Union system to provide its members with a card product. The MasterCard brand was chosen, and in 1982 CUETS was incorporated as an operations centre to manage the MasterCard services program for its affiliated members. The first card was issued by Sherwood Credit Union in Regina in 1982; by the late 1980s CUETS had issued over 200,000 cards to credit unions and co-operative financial institutions in nearly every Canadian province. Throughout the 1990s CUETS greatly diversified its services and expanded its product line, earning a reputation as one of Saskatchewan's fastest growing companies and ranking among the top 100 employers in Canada. In 2003, CUETS reported sales of $140 million.

Iain Stewart