Credit Union tech-talk News

April 28 - May 2, 2008

• General News
• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Biometric Digest Highlights
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers
• Conferences

* Quincy CU Extends Relationship with Open Solutions 
* FSCC Partners with eZforex for Foreign Exchange Program
* CUTEK Signs Five CUs to Implement Correio AVS 
* GTE FCU Selects PSCU Financial Services for Debit/Credit Processing  

Quincy Credit Union announced it has selected Open Solutions’ The Complete Credit Union Solution: DNA to address its enterprise-wide processing needs. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for credit unions throughout the United States, Canada and other international markets. Quincy CU is also implementing Open Solutions’ Credit Card Module, StreamLend Velocity, MarketVision, Dynamic Messaging, Report Wizard, safe deposit box and the Deluxe Check Order Interface.

Financial Service Centers Cooperative, the nation's largest shared branch network with over 3,000 in-network locations, announced a strategic alliance with eZforex.com, the nation's leading online foreign exchange company, to further automate foreign currency exchange process for credit union members nationwide. eZforex provides a turn-key system that allows credit unions to offer convenient international payments and foreign currency purchases. 

CUTEK, a financial technology consulting firm and technology provider for credit unions using Symitar’s Episys core processing system, has signed five credit unions in Q1 2008 to use its Correio Address Validation Server solution. They are: Alaska USA FCU; First U.S. Community CU; Apple FCU; CoVantage CU; and Delaware State Police FCU. This integration allows the credit unions to validate and standardize addresses at the point of entry with the United States Postal Service, immediately mitigating any incorrect addresses for the future. 

GTE Federal Credit Union, Tampa, FL, has signed a five-year agreement for signature and PIN debit and credit card processing with PSCU Financial Services, the nation’s largest credit union service organization (CUSO). The credit union is the third largest in Florida with $2.2 billion in assets, 202,000 members, 58,000 credit accounts and 166,000 debit accounts. GTE Federal Credit Union was a founding member of the cooperative. 

Hardware News

Fujitsu announced the MHZ2 CJ series, a new line of 2.5 drives with FDE (full disk encryption) capabilities, joining rivals Hitachi and Seagate who have been shipping similar hardware based encryption on some of their models. The additional twist that Fujitsu puts on their MHZ2 CJ drives is 256 bit AES encryption, which should ensure an even stronger protection than what rival solutions provide. The new drives will offer up to 320 GB capacity, SATA connectivity and will spin at 7200 RPM.

Digital Check, a leading provider of desktop check scanners for the remote deposit capture and branch automation market, announced a new check scanner designed for the small business distributed check capture market. The new scanning device, CheXpress, offers a smaller footprint, and its features include dual scanning of images, dual check endorsement and dual MICR read technology. The firm is targeting the estimated 14.5 million small businesses that are candidates for remote deposit capture.

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ATMs/Kiosks

United Cash Solutions now offers wireless and Internet protocol connectivity for ATMs. The Beveryly, MA-based firm says that their connectivity options work with any standard ATM. The UCS IP router converts the ATM’s connectivity from analog dial-up to IP. UCS also is providing wireless ATM service utilizing the AT&T and T-Mobile cellular networks.

The ATM Industry Association is rolling out the first “official” international symbol for the ATM. The global ATM pictogram has been registered by the International Organization for Standardization, and passed an evaluation test in three global cultures. The ATMIA plans a worldwide promotional campaign to encourage the adoption of the symbol.

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User authentication firm e-Solutions has developed a system based on individual typing behavior, including speed, rhythm and agility. The technology is designed to overcome some of the existing problems with biometric technology by adding an extra layer of security to normal log-in systems. The Remote Biometric Authentication system analyses typing characteristics to create an individual user profile or 'typing fingerprint'. The software senses pauses, mistakes and speed, which e-Solutions says are just as personally identifiable as handwriting.

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According to analyst house Gartner, the number of people making payments using their mobile phones globally is set to soar from 32.9 million in 2008 to 103.9 million in 2011. The research firm says SMS text messages will continue to be the dominant channel for mobile payments, although take up of wireless application protocol (WAP), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and near field communications (NFC) contactless services will also grow. Yet Gartner is cautious about revenue opportunities that m-payments offer for financial institutions and claims mobile operators have more to gain from the technology. 

An established Silicon Valley wireless manufacturer has developed new technology that securely delivers the enterprise network to mobile users using a combination of WiFi and wireless broadband connectivity. It is geared towards organizations with either mobile workers, or disaster recovery requirements. Learn more about it in the May issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.

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Visa announced a new fraud reduction service that is designed to enable credit unions to easily create, test and execute card authorization rules. Visa Risk Manager is comprised of the following three services: 

- Visa Rules Manager: This is a web application that allows issuers to create, test and publish customized decisioning rules using risk information from multiple sources. 

- Visa Real Time Decisioning: This gives credit unions the capability to allow Visa to act on their behalf to decline or forward to the issuer for action, high-fraud-risk transactions using predefined rules created by the issuer. This real-time service addresses potential fraud as it flows through Visa so it never reaches the issuer.

- Visa Case Manager: After transactions have gone through the issuer's normal authorization process, the Visa Case Manager web application enables issuers to view, prioritize, and manage transactions that require further investigation. 

According to the 2008-2009 CUNA Technology and Spending Report, security should continue to lead the way in credit union IT budgets over the next three years. Forty-seven percent of 581 respondents cited IT security as one of their top three technology spends, followed by business continuity planning at 39% and risk management compliance/automation and expanding e-commerce activities tied at 34%.

On Easter weekend of 2008, burglars took four hundred thousand dollars in cash and other valuables from a Queens, NY bank's safe deposit box area. To destroy forensic evidence, all walls were sprayed with fire extinguisher foam. A sink drain was also plugged and a water faucet was left running, flooding the building. Unfortunate box renters are now left with many questions about vault security and insurance coverage on their missing box contents. David P. McGuinn, President of Safe Deposit Specialists, will cover this story in depth and its ramifications for credit unions that offer safe deposit boxes in the May issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.

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Security:

Perimeter, Host and Endpoint Security – Finding the Right Mix

Arcot - http://www.arcot.com   Read R. 'Doc' Vaidhyanathan's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Arcot.pdf

Astaro - http://www.astaro.com Read Alex Quinonez's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Astaro.pdf

Code Green Networks - http://www.codegreennetworks.com   Read Brian Czarny's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/CGN.pdf

Digital Resolve - http://www.digital-resolve.net Read Dennis Maicon's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/DigitalResolve.pdf

e-DMZ Security - http://www.e-dmzsecurity.com   Read Kris Zupan's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/e-DMZ.pdf

Galaxy - http://www.fiserv-galaxy.com Read Vince Francone's comments:     http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Galaxy.pdf

Harland Financial Solutions - http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com   Read Peter McKellar's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/HFS.pdf

HEIT - http://www.goheit.com   Read Dan Holt's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Heit.pdf

Integrated Computer Solutions - http://www.icsinc.com   Read Stephen Goldsby's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/ICS.pdf

MagTek - http://www.magtek.com   Read Kiran Gandhi's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/MagTek.pdf

Netsecuris - http://www.netsecuris.com   Read Leonard Jacobs' comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Netsecuris.pdf

Network Box - http://www.networkboxusa.com   Read Pierluigi Stella's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/NetworkBox.pdf

Perimeter eSecurity - http://www.perimeterusa.com   Read Kevin Prince's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Perimeter.pdf

Proofpoint - http://www.proofpoint.com   Read Sandra Vaughan's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Proofpoint.pdf

Sydel - http://www.sydelcorp.com   Read Antonio Gonzalez's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Sydel.pdf

TraceSecurity - http://www.tracesecurity.com   Read Jim Stickley's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/TraceSecurity.pdf

TriGeo Network Security - http://www.trigeo.com   Read Michelle Dickman's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/TriGeo.pdf

ZixCorp - http://www.zixcorp.com   Read Dena Bauckman's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Zix.pdf

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Historically, many credit unions have relied on the convenience factor - particularly via their branch and ATM networks - to bring in deposits. More recently, some have turned to higher rates to attract members, sometimes through online high-yield savings rates. But some experts contend that credit unions must use better analytics to bring in more deposits. We will cover this topic in the May issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.  

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Payment Innovations has launched BillCharger which allows users to pay any bill with their Visa or MasterCard credit card even if the merchant does not accept credit cards. The company says that BillCharger securely manages the entire bill payment process - users enter only their payment and credit card information. BillCharger's interface stores frequently used payee information, as well as a complete history of the bills that users have paid with the service.

According to Forrester Research, the growing consumer adoption of social media such as blogs, wikis, Facebook and customer ratings sites is altering the relationship between financial service firms and consumers. Forrester’s survey found that 62 percent of U.S. online banking users participate in social media activities such as blogs and customer ratings sites. Plus Web bankers are 14 percent more likely than the average online adult to engage in social media activities. Forrester recommends that those departments at the credit union that are responsible for online banking try to understand how their online members use and interact with social media, and then advise senior management on the most appropriate social media strategy for the credit union. 

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AT&T is partnering with Cisco to offer what will be the first fully managed Cisco Telepresence solution — AT&T Telepresence Solution. Customers will be offered the choice of one- or three-screen options, based on Cisco’s Telepresence 1000 and 3000 solutions. The three-screen system allows multiple parties to be joined in a session with the felling of sitting at the same conference table. With the Cisco Telepresence MultiPoint Switch, as many as 48 locations can be supported on a single call.

Credit unions in 23 U.S. cities will soon have access to broadband speeds up to 20 megabits per second because of Qwest's fiber-to-the-home rollout. The phased rollout of fiber will bring two new service plans, Connect Quantim with 20M bps service and Connect Titanium with 12 M bps. Qwest's Connect Quantim service will cost $99.99 when a customer has another Qwest service, such as wireless or phone service. Connect Titanium will cost $46.99 a month when paired with another Qwest service. When customers sign up for two years of service, they are guaranteed that "price for life," claims a company spokesperson.

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Virtually every call center expert stresses the importance of quality coaching techniques. But which supervisor or call center manager techniques have the most impact? We will provide some suggestions in the May issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.

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Catch Tom and Bill Rogers, Associate Editor of Credit Union tech-talk at the following conferences in 2008:

June 5-6, Las Vegas - Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference

October 15-18, Las Vegas - Firefighters' National Credit Union Summit

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