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August 29, 2011 - September 2, 2011
General News
* Coast CCU Inks Deal for PSCU Financial Services’ Virtual Branch Services
* Easy Solutions Named to Inc. 500 List of Fastest Growing Companies
* CUNA Mutual Unveils Smartphone Loan Technology
* CU*Answers Debuts Board Election Services
Coast Central Credit Union, a $900 million credit union serving 53,000 members in the northwestern corner of California, has partnered with PSCU Financial Services for electronic banking and online bill payment services for its members. Member support will be provided by the CUSO’s 24/7/365 Total Member Care Contact Centers.
Inc. Magazine recently announced its 30th annual Inc. 500 ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the US. Easy Solutions Inc., a leading fraud prevention company, ranks No. 210 on the list, with three-year growth of 1,480% percent. The company landed at the No. 3 spot in the Security Category.
The CUNA Mutual Group has unveiled Smartphone Loan technology that allows loan applicants who are credit union members to begin the loan application process from wherever they are on their smartphones. The technology is a mobile version of CUNA Mutual’s loanliner.com product, which is used by more than 500 credit unions nationwide.
CU*Answers, a 100% Credit Union owned CUSO located in Grand Rapids, MI, has unveiled Board Election Services to help credit unions ramp up voter turnout and community involvement, and encourage their clients to function as true cooperatives. Some of the offerings included in its Board Election Services include setup of election paperwork including marketing materials, notices and ballots, setup of election kiosks for voting in the branch, advice on bylaw amendments when necessary, tabulation of electronic and paper balloting, and more.
Hardware News
Toshiba has come out with a 2-megapixel IP camera that uses 802.11n wireless connectivity which frees it from using coaxial or CAT cables. The company says that the unit delivers superior image clarity via a CMOS progressive scan sensor that delivers 30 frames-per-second color video. It has 4x zoom capabilities, offers motion detection, auto-pan and tilt, and two-way audio. The camera can stream video in MPEG-4 or MJPEG formats.
Iomega has introduced a 12-bay, rack-mountable top-tier network-attached storage (NAS) array. The new StorCenter px12-350r comes with up to four 2TB or 3TB 7,200rpm SATA drives. The 2U (3.5-in high) form factor rack-mountable NAS array has a maximum of 12 slots for drive expansion. The unit has multiple RAID levels and hot swappable drives. The system is available in two versions: an 8TB model that sells for $5,999; and a 12TB model that sells for $6,999.
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Hardware Section Sponsored by
Millennial Vision, Inc. (MVi)
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Software Updates
According to Celent, it is relatively straightforward to quickly increase branch channel efficiency and effectiveness without a large capital investment through the use of basic WFO (work force optimization) solution capabilities. Currently Celent estimates that less than 450 financial institutions (about 3%) use WFO software to help manage the branch channel. The research firm says that WFO vendors have packaged Software as a solution (SaaS) based solutions together with turnkey services to such a point that WFO implementations are now a relatively easy "yes" even for small financial institutions. They assert that credit unions will enjoy rapid returns on their WFO investments to the tune of $20,000 to $30,000 per branch over the first year without an adverse impact on member satisfaction.
Citrix Systems has updated its XenDesktop software to allow users to personalize their desktops, as well as offer the ability to access their desktops over wide area networks (WANs). The personalization technology, branded as "Personal vDisk," allows users to customize their own personalized desktops, as well as permits organizations to embed departmental applications on these desktops. As for running over a WAN, Citrix claims to have improved its streaming protocol, HDX (High Definition User Experience), so that long-range streaming is now possible.
Keeping computers and disk drives synchronized can be tricky and time consuming. We will cover an affordable, yet powerful, synchronization package in the September issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.
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Software Updates Sponsored by
Raddon Financial Group (RFG)
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ATMs/Kiosks
The Cisco Integrated Services Router 819 Machine-to-Machine Gateway is the smallest member of the ISR family of branch and remote office routers and is designed to withstand outdoor environments with extreme temperatures. Target markets for the device include ATMs, but it can also serve as a conventional router in a remote office. The 819 relies primarily on cellular data to reach the Internet, weighs only 2.3 pounds, and starts at $1,600.
Broadridge Financial Solutions announced the launch of new functionality within its PROactive solution suite for the reconciliation and automated exception handling of ATM activity. Examples of ATM reconciliations covered by the new functionality include cash replenishment, individual ATM transactions, balances, float cash, ATM networks and cash deposit machines (CDM). The company touts the fact that because reconciliations run overnight that means that business activity reports and analysis can be available first thing every morning and the more serious issues prioritized automatically.
EMV (AKA chip and pin) cards are slowly making headway in the US. A big question for ATM deployers is what are the actual changes that occur at the machine itself when upgrading one to handle chip-based cards? We will discuss this in the September issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.
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CU Success Stories
Here is a chance to learn about real life credit union success stories from various technology vendors through the words of their clients. This week's vendor is:
Stirling Systems Group
and their client is:
Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union
Credit Unions - if you have a vendor that you are happy with then please let us know!
Vendors - if you have a credit union that is happy with your solutions then please let us know and we will give you a $100 discount on your Case Study!
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Wireless World
Some mobile banking enthusiasts believe that it will be the death knell of the branch, while many others are not convinced that the branch will ever go away. The Smart Card institute believes that it will not make traditional branches obsolete, but that mobile banking will usher in major branch changes. According to the institute, "the role of the future branch will be primarily as a marketing and new account indoctrination center. Smartphone use will eliminate most face-to-face financial transactions, as well as paper checks, paper currency and plastic cards - not to mention the costs associated with those media. Card interface devices, check, currency and coin security and handling devices such as change makers, bill counters and ATMs will also disappear. All of these will be replaced by electronic messages, sent via the Internet, which smartphone customers initiate themselves and which provide the same information as the replaced media."
Member Services Solutions is a Franklin, TN-based company that is targeting smaller credit unions with their mobile banking platform. Five credit unions are currently live with CU Mobile Apps which includes an App Engine that is designed to allow credit unions to easily upload images, change colors and items displayed, and add other content and services as they become available. In addition to basic banking functions, the software provides alerts, notifications of special offers, loan rates, QR technology, Facebook and Twitter support, and locators.
Some analysts are convinced that mobile financial services (MFS) are perfectly suited to helping bring unbanked and underbanked consumers into the credit union. We will cover how credit unions can effectively serve the underbanked population using the mobile channel in the September issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.
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Security Section
Many organizations are leery of hosted email solutions out of the fear that people could potentially read or tamper with their email. To ally these fears, Microsoft has taken a number of visible steps to reduce the security risks associated with hybrid or pure-hosted Exchange deployments:
• Microsoft's cloud operations are certified to meet the SAS 70 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 standards for security.
• Exchange 2010 Role Based Access Control (RBAC) gives you and Microsoft an effective means of separating access to objects. You can manage things that belong to you, such as users, contacts, and some access settings, and Microsoft gets exclusive access to manage things such as servers, mailbox databases, and Client Access server URLs. Neither side can touch objects they shouldn't.
• Exchange 2010 also includes a robust set of tools for auditing changes made to the environment by administrators.
• The links between you and the Office 365 installation are encrypted. This goes for mail transport, directory sync, and client access.
A recent NAFCU survey found that the cost of fighting card fraud is rising significantly, and that, on average, credit unions spent more than $165,000 each on card fraud prevention in 2010. The survey found that the cost to close a card account that had been compromised by fraud and re-issue a new card on a new account averaged $5.18 per account for the CUs surveyed, and that half of the managers responding to the survey said they expect to spend more on fraud prevention in 2011.
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Leaders Roundtable
Online and Mobile Banking:
Lowering Channel Costs & Enabling More Self-service
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Technology and Marketing
According to FDIC data, an estimated $169 billion in income never flows through a financial institution. Researchers from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business found that the rapidly growing Latino population is particularly underserved. They say that the Latino population is particularly attractive due to the fact that Latino households often feature more than one adult generating income, and the group's workforce participation is high. They suggest that credit unions hire more employees who speak Spanish, educate staff members on cultural issues, help new members with paperwork, and educate the public on the safety benefits of using a credit union.
The University of Virginia Community Credit Union is working with the Local Energy Alliance Program to offer a loan program for consumers looking to make their homes more energy efficient. The Charlottesville-based credit union is offering new, low-interest loans on specific energy saving improvements, with loans up to $25,000 at 2.99%.
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Technology & Marketing Section Sponsored by
MARQUIS Software Solutions
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Some analysts believe that credit unions have been slow to catch on to the personal financial management trend and have had difficulty understanding how PFM fits into the online banking universe. Here are some findings from a new report, 'Personal Financial Management: The Devil Is in the Details,' from Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm, and the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI):
• PFM is going to go through three phases. Phase three is where the industry will eventually end up; however, it will take three to five years to get there. In phase three, PFM becomes the cornerstone of online banking whereby transactional features and functions will be built around the PFM dashboard. It is important to note that the tablet experience and smartphone touchscreen interface go hand in hand with PFM/online banking dashboards.
• Several areas need to be worked on - online banking user experience; the definition of user roles and preferences; categorization accuracy; online banking dashboard customization; and relevant and targeted user education that is embedded in online banking.
• The convergence of PFM and online banking will accelerate over the next few years. Celent predicts that, by 2014, 52% of the total online banking population will have signed up for PFM, with 12% being 30-day active.
Total System Services is marketing its TSYS Hybrid debit/credit card to FIs, touting that it encourages more credit card usage which brings higher interchange fees. The product features a line of credit and the ability for a consumer to affix up to five demand deposit accounts. Another option are the high-tech plastic cards from Dynamics that come equipped with buttons a card holder can press to choose which account to make a purchase with.
There is a new system that has come out that lets consumers deactivate and reactivate debit and ATM cards as needed. We will explain how it works in the September issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.
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Internet Access
By some estimates, 25% of organizations are already using desktop virtualization technologies to serve remote/branch workers, 22% plan to do so in the next 12 months, and 20% plan to do so in the next 24 months. Many observers think that desktop virtualization represents a new use case for WAN optimization vendors. The primary job of WAN optimization controllers is accelerating Sharepoint, Exchange, and file access. While many vendors excel at this, desktop virtualization requires new protocol support and may open the market for new equipment or new vendors. Meanwhile, Citrix claims to have already improved its streaming protocol, HDX (High Definition User Experience), so that long-range streaming is now possible.
CenturyLink, a provider of broadband, data networking and voice services, announced two new VoIP services, CenturyLink Hosted VoIP and CenturyLink SIP Trunking, which they say will enable organizations to access advanced features that enhance connectivity and mobility in the workplace. CenturyLink SIP Trunking offers the following benefits: convergence of voice and data traffic on a single connection; ability to keep existing phone system and network infrastructure; and freedom to manage your own PBX.
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Call Centers
Gila, LLC has recently launched the new SmartDialz service for targeted dialing campaigns. Designed exclusively for Gila's credit union clients, the service involves advanced, integrated outbound dialing algorithms that can consistently predict best available contact times. This technology enables the development of company-specific strategies and allows each credit union to maximize RPC (right-party contacts) to delinquent members.
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Call Centers Section Sponsored by
Better Branches
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Conferences
Catch Tom and Bill Rogers, Associate Editor of Credit Union tech-talk, at these upcoming conferences:
October 9-12, New Orleans - Firefighters’ National Credit Union Summit
November 5-9, Palm Springs - Reaching Your Members in the 21st Century
June 6-8, Las Vegas - Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference
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