13 minutes
Charles “Chuck” Fagan III has always believed in the power of collaboration. It’s a belief that has guided him throughout the four decades of his credit union career, culminating in his position as CEO of Velera, the nation’s premier payments CUSO and integrated financial technology solutions provider.
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘If you build it, they might come. If you build it with them, they’re already there,’” said Fagan, who has led Velera and its predecessor organization, PSCU, since 2015. “We focus on creating a collaborative environment that values input from all our team members. We take that same approach with our credit unions. They own us, so having their involvement as we build and invest is important. We’ve had an incredible run over the last 11-plus years of building Velera into an organization that I believe to be the model for credit union collaboration.”
Fagan’s career has focused primarily on payments in both credit union and CUSO environments. His stature has grown in the industry through his involvement on high-profile boards and councils, speaking engagements at industry events, and his work in championing professional development of credit union’s future leaders.
All these activities have made Fagan a worthy inductee into the CUES Hall of Fame, which honors leaders for lifetime achievement and significant contributions to the credit union movement. The Hall of Fame induction represents a full-circle moment for Fagan, who served two years as CUES President/CEO, during which time he prioritized development of innovative educational programs that prepare emerging talent for leadership opportunities in the credit union industry.
“There are so many great industry leaders who have been recognized in the Hall of Fame,” Fagan said. “For me, the honor is especially significant, because of having been part of CUES. I see CUES as an important asset to the industry. It’s been a special part of the professional development of so many leaders in the credit union space.”
A Pivotal Merger
One of Fagan’s most notable career accomplishments was spearheading the integration of two leading CUSOs—PSCU and Co-op Solutions—to position Velera as the clear leader in the payments and financial technology space in January 2024. “These were two incredible assets that together represent a significant player in the industry,” Fagan said. “It was a major achievement to take these two organizations with rich histories and bring them together to do even more for credit unions.”
The origin of Velera dates to 1977, when five Florida credit unions in the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater area formed PSCU to build a collective credit card program. Nearly 50 years later, the consolidated organization offers a comprehensive portfolio encompassing payment processing, fraud and risk management, data and analytics, digital banking, instant payments, strategic consulting, collections, ATM and POS networks, shared branching, and member support.
Still headquartered in the Tampa area, Velera also has offices in Dallas, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa. The company has grown to encompass more than 5,000 employees and serve 4,000 credit union clients nationwide.
“The purpose of the organization is to accelerate our partners’ success through innovative financial technology solutions and inspired service,” Fagan said. “We are an innovation partner for credit unions, especially around payments and digital mobile connectivity, facilitating 15-plus billion transactions a year for credit union members.”
At the time of the merger, PSCU had around $800 million in revenue, and Co-op Solutions around $500 million. In 2026, the consolidated organization reached $1.6 billion. “We now have over 100 million accounts on file from credit union members,” Fagan said. “That makes us a scale player that can meet with payment industry partners and use that scale to negotiate the best possible pricing and terms for credit unions.”
Velera also serves its clients through additional companies that were developed under its corporate umbrella. The most prominent of these is Lumin Digital, a digital and mobile banking company. “We built Lumin from the ground up, providing the funding and building the team to create a cloud-native company that now stands on its own,” Fagan said.
A Career Foundation
Fagan set the course of his career nearly four decades ago, when he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, where he also had the opportunity to play college athletics. “At the time, I wouldn’t say that I really knew what a credit union was,” he said.
He learned quickly when he interviewed at Virginia Credit Union for the position of payments system supervisor. He was hired by then-CFO and eventual CEO Jane Watkins, who became a long-time mentor and remains a dear friend to this day. In his time at the credit union from 1988 to 1997, Fagan made lasting contributions, such as launching the credit union’s debit card program and installing its first ATM.
“Those 9½ years served as the foundation of my career, because I know what it’s like to sit on the other side,” Fagan said. “When I moved on to PSCU, now Velera, the value of having sat in that seat was huge. I was able to tap into the expertise of having been part of a credit union as we built relationships with credit unions.”
Fagan originally joined PSCU to lead its Northeast region. This would turn out to be the first of two stints at PSCU. Initially, he stayed with the company for nearly 16 years, rising to the position of executive vice president and chief sales officer. Fagan had a strong desire to become a CEO and was able to achieve that goal when he was recruited by CUES to fill the organization’s top spot, which he held from 2013 to 2015.
“While CUES financially is a much smaller organization than even the department that I was responsible for at PSCU, its scope in terms of touching credit unions was significantly larger than PSCU at the time,” he recalled. “While PSCU was touching about 500 credit unions, CUES was touching thousands.”
Fagan’s experience at CUES gave him a greater appreciation for leadership development, which proved pivotal when he was offered the opportunity to return to PSCU as president and CEO. “The value of having worked at a credit union and having been a part of CUES helped shape a well-rounded ability to lead this company,” he said. “It gave me an outside-in view of PSCU that was very helpful.”
A Legacy to Build On
Fagan’s selection to the CUES Hall of Fame comes as he prepares to retire. He’ll be stepping down on Sept. 30, at the end of Velera’s current fiscal year. His successor, Brian Caldarelli, was named president on June 1 and will add the title of CEO upon Fagan’s departure. As Caldarelli prepares to take on that role, he realizes that he has big shoes to fill and is taking inspiration from his predecessor’s example.
“I’ve been in the cockpit with Chuck during his entire time as president and CEO, and I can’t think of a better leader,” said Caldarelli, who joined PSCU 14 years ago as chief financial officer and became EVP/chief administrative officer upon the combination with Co-op Solutions. “Thanks to Chuck, the organization that this team is inheriting is a powerhouse. We’ve never been stronger financially. I’m going to work hard to maintain his legacy, building upon the strong foundation that Chuck has left us for the future.”
A major goal that Caldarelli has for his own tenure as president and CEO is to follow Fagan’s example of collaboration and service. “Service has always been the key strain in our DNA as a company, and Chuck helped shine a light on that,” he said. “The collaboration between teams within the company and within the industry is something that he’s really pushed and has paid off handsomely for us.”
Caldarelli gives credit to Fagan’s collaborative leadership for the robust growth at Velera. “When you look at Chuck’s 11 years as president and CEO, the company revenue-wise has increased about fivefold, far outpacing the growth of the industry,” he said.
But Caldarelli stressed that an even greater testament to Fagan’s leadership is the culture he has established at the company. This culture is built not only on the tenets of collaboration and service, but also on fostering a caring environment in which employees feel valued and supported. As an example, Caldarelli noted, “I know that Chuck takes a lot of pride in the fact that during COVID, we didn’t lay off a single person. In fact, we grew our employee base.”
Caldarelli further pointed out how Fagan shows concern for the safety and wellbeing of Velera employees. For instance, when a natural disaster hits, as has notably happened in the Tampa Bay area, Velera supports its employees by providing such necessities as water, emergency supplies, and temporary shelter for displaced families.
Velera also shows how it cares for employees by putting emphasis on professional development, something that Fagan honed at CUES. “Having the organization improve its knowledge around payments in the industry was a key focus,” Caldarelli said. “Chuck has helped raise our collective IQ as a leading payments organization.”
Fagan observed that the culture at Velera is a strength for the company when dealing with its credit union clients. “Our culture is what differentiates us. Credit unions trust their members to us, because of how closely our culture aligns with theirs.”
Collaboration in Action
One of Velera’s ongoing strengths is how successfully it partners with its credit union clients as part of its collaborative mindset. The Velera Board of Directors, consisting of 18 credit union CEOs, ensure that the company is growing with the needs of credit unions in mind.
“They’re all clients and owners of the business,” Fagan said. “We also use an advisory group structure to further ensure the participation of credit unions. Their risk officers participate on our risk advisory group. We have people in product and technology and other areas that also contribute their views. We’ve even built a Fintech Engagement Program that evaluates fintechs that approach us about gaining access to our distribution capabilities and the credit union system.”
Often new solutions are co-developed with the input of Velera’s credit union clients. “We’ve used them to help develop, test, and storyboard various solutions, which again is something that Chuck does to bring the company closer to the industry,” Caldarelli said. “We look at Velera as being an extension of the credit union—much more like a partner than a vendor.”
Collaboration also has been integral to Velera’s migration from being a reseller to being a full technology capable shop. “We build our own tech solutions now,” Fagan said, noting that this encompasses use of offshore developers as well as internal product and innovation teams. “We have over 60 agile teams that focus on making sure that all the newer technologies are made available in a timely manner to credit unions.”
As he builds upon the foundation that Fagan established, Caldarelli plans to keep collaboration as an integral part of the organization. “From our view, and without hyperbole, I think when you look at the credit union industry, there is no better example of collaboration than Velera,” he said. “We’re there front and center, staying connected with credit unions and the credit union industry. We’re aligned with what credit unions need, providing an important voice on their side.”
Contributing to the Community
It’s not just Fagan’s professional achievements that make him a worthy inductee of the CUES Hall of Fame. He also is deserving because of his tireless efforts on behalf of civic, community, and charitable causes. He is a supporter of the American Cancer Society through his involvement with the Florida chapter of CEOs against Cancer. He recently served as chair of the 2026 Cattle Baron’s Ball in Tampa, which raised more than $500,000 for the organization. He chaired the Tampa Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night event in 2022. Fagan saw these events as a way to honor the memory of David Serlo, long-time PSCU president and the first employee of the CUSO, who passed away from cancer in 2010.
In addition, Fagan is a long-time supporter of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), including serving as co-chair for the CU for Kids Wine Auction this year, which raised over $2.4 million for CMN hospitals.
Fagan has received several awards during his distinguished career. He was recognized as the recipient of the 2025 Corporate Hero of the Year Award from the PenFed Foundation, an organization that supports veterans. “My father and father-in-law were both in the military, so this award was very special to me,” he said.
Earlier this year, Fagan was honored with the Amigo for Life Award from the National Association of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals (NLCUP) for the support that he and Velera have provided over the years. He also has been named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Power 100, which recognizes the most influential business leaders in the region.
Additionally, Fagan serves on various boards and councils. These include the Board of Visitors at Longwood University, his alma mater, having been appointed by the governor of Virginia two years ago. He is a member of Visa‘s Executive Client Council and a board member for Kinective and MeridianLink. He is co-chair of the FinTech Limited Partner Advisory Board for Black Dragon Capital, and board chair for Lumin Digital. Previously, he served as a member of Visa’s Credit Union Roundtable and Community Financial Institution Advisory Group, as board treasurer for Bonifii, and on the board for America’s Credit Union Museum.
This type of involvement is indicative of Velera and its two predecessor organizations, PSCU and Co-op Solutions. “We have always been huge supporters and involved in virtually all parts of credit union, civic, and charitable efforts,” Fagan said. “I think it’s important to contribute to the communities that we’re in. Credit unions do an incredible job at that.”
Caldarelli affirmed that Fagan has had an oversized impact on the industry. He pointed out that Fagan has given generously of his time to up-and-coming industry leaders, mentoring many who have gone on to achieve their own success. “Chuck’s a relationship guy,” Caldarelli said. “When he meets you and has a conversation with you, you can tell that he truly cares about you. You only meet a handful of people like that in your life, and Chuck is certainly one of them.”
As much as Fagan loves the industry, his greatest love is his family. He and Kathy, his wife of 38 years, have two daughters—Keri Kelly and Kellie Fagan. They also have three grandchildren—Chase, Brynn, and Cade. They get together regularly for family dinners and leisure time at the Fagans’ vacation home, where they enjoy boating on the river. “That’s a fun time with our grandchildren,” Fagan said. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with them in retirement, getting out on the boat, and seeing if I can’t stay busy with golf a little more often.”
For now, Fagan is focused on sticking the landing of what has been a memorable career. He will leave with gratitude for the opportunities he has had to leave his mark on the credit union industry.
“It’s such an incredible industry, and the support that I/we have gotten over the years has made it a rewarding experience,” Fagan said. “I can’t think of a more fulfilling career than helping credit unions create better financial lives for their members.”
Based in Missouri, Diane Franklin is a longtime contributor to CU Management.
