Coast Capital Helps Canadians Improve Finances with Trusted, Secure, Seamless Identity

Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union, Canada’s largest credit union, leverages technological innovations to maintain industry leadership. "Identity is at the heart of everything we do," says Steve Pedersen, VP of Cyber and Information Security at Coast Capital. For nearly eight years, Pedersen has led the security technology charge, using identity as a competitive advantage. "Coast Capital's purpose is to build better futures by unlocking financial opportunities and growing income for people and businesses in Canada," Pedersen states. Here’s how Coast Capital uses identity to achieve this goal.

Initially, Coast Capital relied on a third-party digital banking provider for much of its infrastructure, including identity. However, as the financial services market evolved, Coast Capital’s existing platform struggled to keep pace. The banking industry saw an increase in complexity, such as sophisticated cyber attacks like account takeovers (ATOs), and growth opportunities by courting new customers and providing more services. "Managing identity was becoming increasingly complex," Pedersen explains. "Our members expect seamless access, but security threats are evolving faster than ever. We wanted to move faster than the existing platform could in terms of digital transformation. We also had challenges with ATOs, which catalyzed our search for a partner uniquely suited to solve complex identity challenges."

With an expanding digital footprint, Coast Capital needed a robust identity and access management (IAM) platform to unify authentication, strengthen fraud prevention, and future-proof security across its services to support ambitious growth goals.

After an extensive market assessment, Coast Capital selected Ping Identity in 2018 due to:

• Unified Identity Management: A seamless and secure login experience across digital banking, mobile applications, and internal systems.

• Adaptive Authentication: AI-driven fraud detection that adjusts security measures based on risk signals.

• Scalability & Compliance: A platform that meets Canada's regulatory requirements while scaling to support national growth.

"Ping stood out because they allow us to innovate without compromising security," says Pedersen. "We needed a solution that could minimize customer friction, scale, and keep pace with the dynamic cyber and fraud threat landscape." 

Coast Capital deployed Ping Identity via a Managed Service Provider (MSP). However, Coast Capital’s cloud-first strategy mandated that the organization watch for the availability of Ping’s cloud platform in the future. Once ready, Coast Capital began migrating to PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud.

Since migrating to PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud, Coast Capital has met or surpassed expectations. Digital members enjoy seamless secure single sign-on (SSO) and hassle-free access to financial services. Pedersen cites the success of Coast Capital’s Money Chat user experience, available both digitally and advisor-assisted, helping members understand their financial health, set goals, and receive personalized advice. New members who have completed a Money Chat in their first 180 days of membership have 0.5 higher Products per Member, 40% higher balances and 60% more transactions compared to those that did not. Historically, closed transactions connected with completion of a Digital Money Chat total almost $1 billion in notional value annually. Money Chat was recognized by the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) as the 2022 National Innovation Award winner for its unique approach to behavioral finance.

Coast Capital also experiences cost and IT efficiencies. "Moving from an outsourced managed platform to PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud means we now benefit from built-in security capabilities," Pedersen elaborates. "The platform includes denial-of-service protections, a web application firewall, and botnet protection—features we would otherwise have to layer on separately. Having these built-in means we can focus more on our core business rather than managing security layers." 

Coast Capital reports an initial 20% cost savings and spending less IT time on identity management and more on innovation and security. "Another benefit of PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud is eliminating platform management. The pace of change in authentication and authorization to keep up with e-crime growth is massive. Moving to a platform where this is their bread and butter makes sense, and Advanced Identity Cloud provides that capability for us."

Coast Capital is well poised for growth with the new platform. “Coast Capital is looking to grow organically and inorganically, and we need to be able to take on existing member bases from other entities. A purpose-built, trust-centric identity platform will help us achieve that. It provides an omnichannel experience where the same identity can be used across multiple applications,” Pedersen says. “For example, with interest rates expected to drop and 2025 shaping up to be a major mortgage renewal period, being able to leverage identity to streamline renewals is key for us. With anticipated inorganic growth, we expect a 50% increase in managed identities within two years."

Looking ahead, Coast Capital is building a cyber fusion center to integrate cybersecurity, fraud detection, and identity management into a unified intelligence hub. "Identity is a critical component of our broader cybersecurity strategy," Pedersen emphasizes. "With Ping, we're not just protecting our members today—we're preparing for the future of digital banking. Coast Capital is set to revolutionize our member experience with upcoming platform enhancements. The new capabilities will include advanced identity management features that ensure secure and seamless access for all users. The platform will leverage cutting-edge technologies to provide adaptive authentication, AI-driven fraud detection, and comprehensive compliance with regulatory requirements. These enhancements will protect users from evolving cyber and fraud threats and streamline our digital banking experience.” Coast Capital's commitment to innovation and security will drive growth and build lasting trust with its members, positioning the credit union as a leader in the digital banking landscape.

“Leveraging Ping SDKs, we plan to introduce push authentication. Future plans include FIDO2 tokens and passkeys. Additionally, we want to implement push authorization, where transactions—regardless of channel—require user authorization. This prevents ATOs and gives members a way to block unauthorized transactions" Pederson says.

As Coast Capital continues to expand, its investment in modern identity solutions ensures secure, seamless access and lasting trust remain at the core of its mission to build better financial futures. Stay tuned for more updates from Coast Capital as they continue their cloud and digital identity journeys.