This summer, SHAZAM^®, the nation’s only core debit network and debit processor serving community banks, marks a significant milestone. Fifty years ago, a group of bankers decided they wanted a voice in the newly evolving electronic payments system. They created the network you know today as SHAZAM. In those five decades, SHAZAM pioneered the PIN-debit point-of-sale transaction, introduced a national debit product and was among the first to introduce a system to significantly reduce fraud losses.

How It All Started

SHAZAM’s story is rooted in ensuring everyone has access to payments technology. In the mid-1970s, a group of Iowa bankers realized they needed to find a way to access the same electronic funds transfer technology services the larger banks were offering to their customers.

These community bankers helped establish the Iowa Transfer System, now known as SHAZAM, as one of the first electronic funds transfer networks in the world. The network eventually became a state-authorized central routing unit for both ATM and POS debit transactions.

SHAZAM’s first president and CEO, Dale Dooley, literally built the system from the ground up. He was the visionary who found efficiency and prioritized security enhancements like the PIN at the point of sale. Dale had a passion, particularly for the community banking industry, but it was his visionary leadership of the payments system that is still part of the foundation of the modern system we use today.

SHAZAM’s legacy of payments industry leadership includes several notable firsts, from launching the world’s first integrated point-of-sale pilot to pioneering fuel pump debit card transactions. All of those technical advancements were driven by the needs of our member banks and guided by the belief that their customers should have access to the latest, most secure technology at a price that kept the bank profitable.

Over the decades, SHAZAM has added core, digital banking and document imaging to its lineup of tools our members use every day. Each time we added a service, we asked, “Will this help community banks stay competitive in their market?” As we look to the future where digital assets and artificial intelligence offer both opportunity and risk, we are asking the same questions and prioritizing member needs first.

By Bankers, for Bankers

As a member-owned organization, SHAZAM is uniquely structured to put its clients first.

At the heart of this model are our financial institution clients who apply to become members. Every member financial institution, regardless of asset size, gets a vote. This ensures that everyone has an equal voice in the future of our company and the products and services we invest in. These members also select our board of directors. These directors are representatives from SHAZAM-member financial institutions and provide direction to executive leadership on strategic planning and major decisions on company business.

“SHAZAM’s membership model is unique to the financial services industry,” says Paul Waltz, SHAZAM President and CEO. “Serving our members, and not shareholders, allows our organization to make long-term decisions that are in the best interests of community financial institutions.”

Setting the Stage for Continued Success

As SHAZAM celebrates 50 years, we find ourselves facing some of the same questions bankers did back in 1976. That’s why our mission of strengthening financial institutions remains critical to the payments industry and to our member owners.

We are committed to continuing our investment in payments innovation, developing the latest tools for bank customers and supporting the long-term health of community banking. We are proud to be the Community Bankers Association of Kansas’ endorsed payments partner, and we are looking forward to another 50 years of strengthening financial institutions!