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January 2, 2012 - January 6, 2012
General News
* Fiserv Benchmarks Premier System
* CU*Answers Revamps Mobile Offering
* Tucson Old Pueblo CU Reactivates Cards
* WESCO Net to Expand on Its Operational Model
Fiserv, a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced results of benchmark tests demonstrating the scalability and performance of Premier from Fiserv. The tests, run on IBM Power Systems with Solid State Drives (SSDs), achieved an OLTP benchmark of 5.1 million transactions per hour. The OLTP benchmark was produced against an account database supplied by a large Premier client and represented an online workload that included member and account inquiries consistent with real-world application usage patterns.
CU*Answers, a Grand Rapids-based CUSO, announced a recent change to the appearance of It's Me 247 Mobile Web Banking. The modern design creates an easier-to-use interface for the end user and sets the stage for their upcoming bill pay for Mobile Web. In addition to Mobile Web Banking, which is provided to credit unions on its CU*BASE processing platform free of charge, CU*Answers recently announced the release of its Mobile Text Banking service.
Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union of Tucson, AZ, announced it has re-entered the credit card market so it can deliver a key relationship building product and better meet the needs of members. Credit processing is being handled by PSCU Financial Services, which also handles online bill payment for the credit union, which has over 14,000 members and $130 million in assets.
WESCO Net, a national managed-technology services firm in Grand Rapids, MI, announced major internal restructuring to create more streamlined operations, product portfolio expansion, and improved client services. The company, which works with numerous credit unions, says that their new support model utilizes a pooled concept where specialized resources can more quickly be brought to bear on clients' issues.
Hardware News
PC World recently surveyed midsize laptops that are affordable and offer more options for hardware and features than smaller laptops, yet are more portable than desktop replacement models. Their top choices for 13-, 14-, and 15-inch laptops included:
- Acer Aspire TimelineX 5830TG
- Dell XPS 14z
- Dell XPS 15z
- Gateway ID47H02u
- HP EliteBook 8460p
- HP Pavilion dv6
- Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420
- Lenovo ThinkPad T420
- Maingear EX-L 15
- MSI X460DX-006US
Old PC and server hard drives must be thoroughly wiped clean before recycling, but credit unions must also plan for the proper retirement of a wide range of devices, including printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines. For example, copier and printer hard drives may contain printable copies of checks and scans of Social Security cards and drivers' licenses. We will provide some tips for finding and working with a reputable recycling firm in the February issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.
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Hardware Section Sponsored by
Millennial Vision, Inc. (MVi)
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Software Updates
Screenrecorder is a free and easy-to-use screen-to-video capture program that lets users easily record onscreen events to a small video file that can be shared with others, making it easy to record instructions or reproduce problems for more effective troubleshooting or teaching. It records either the entire screen or just single windows and saves the clips into the WMV format.
Comodo Internet Security 5.9 was recently released and remains a free suite of tools. Comodo Internet Security 5.9 includes a new "quick scan" engine, called Smart Scan, and new malware removal features. If you update to one of their paid versions, they are offering a $500 guarantee to customers if they get infected. However, some of Comodo's competitors say that the guarantee is a marketing ploy and point to the fine print of the guarantee, which clarifies that Comodo will only pay if the computer can't be repaired "to an operating condition."
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Software Updates Sponsored by
Raddon Financial Group (RFG)
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ATMs/Kiosks
A recent Celent report finds that image ATM adoption remains measured. The Boston-based research firm predicts that for most financial institutions, the ATM channel will be the last domino to fall in their image migration. They note that some FIs will opt out of imaging for on-premise ATMs, choosing to pay branch staff to do the imaging instead. While some observers expect mobile RDC to lessen the enthusiasm for investments in the ATM channel, Celent disagrees. They state that in all cases, the business case is compelling, and ATM users love envelope free ATMs.
Security solutions company Alarm It has added remote capabilities to its MT3000 ATM/kiosk security system. Using their AMS Web portal, ATM owners can now arm and disarm the alarm remotely. The MT3000, available in TCP/IP, dial-up and a stand-alone version, features a panic button for ATM users and a battery backup. ATM deployers can choose how they would like to receive their alerts: SMS, e-mail and through Alarm It's Web portal. Conditions triggering an alert can include: the machine being tilted, a door being opened, disconnection of the power or when the battery needs to be replaced.
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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:
L9
and their client is:
New England Federal 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
According to a recent KPMG study, mobile phone-based payments will not catch on significantly for another two to four years. Their report found that less than a quarter of consumers were willing to use their mobile phone as a substitute for other payment modes, with 30 percent of younger adults showing more willingness to do so. Doubt among consumers and some businesses that smartphone payments are secure and easier than cash or card payments is one major impediment to its widespread use. Meanwhile consulting firm BillingViews has published a list of key factors that could undermine the widespread use of mobile payments:
- uncertainty and complexity of fees
- the threat of heavy handed regulation
- too many competing technology enablers
- major players failing to commit to a consistent path
- the inability to find a problem for which NFC is actually the best solution
- balancing simplicity and speed with security
- a failure to identify a truly compelling advantage for consumers
Business users were some of the first to take advantage of mobile technology as evidenced by the Blackberry's popularity. Business mobile users are looking to take advantage of rich and powerful mobile banking services, according to one large consulting firm. We will cover their business mobile banking recommendations in the February issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.
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Security Section
Attack Surface Analyzer is a Microsoft verification tool designed to catalog changes in system state, runtime parameters, and securable objects on the Windows operating system. MSATA scans ports, security event logs, autorun entries, services and firewall settings (amongst others) and consolidates results into a CAB file. The tool runs on the Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 operating systems.
PacketFence is a fully supported, free and open source network access control (NAC) system. PacketFence can be used to effectively secure networks - from small to very large - thanks to its feature set that includes a captive-portal for registration and remediation, centralized wired and wireless management, 802.1X support, layer-2 isolation of problematic devices, and integration with Snort and Nessus. The new version 3.1.0 was recently released and includes many updates and fixes.
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Leaders Roundtable
Security:
Compliance and InfoSecurity – Applying the Right Resources
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Technology and Marketing
Consulting and research firm Novantas performed a benchmarking study of about 13,000 branch locations and found that branch employees sold an average of 1.12 products per day in 2010, down from 1.70 in 2003. The New York-based consultancy notes that the most productive FIs from a sales perspective require their branch managers to focus more on direct selling themselves as opposed to coaching the rest of the staff on sales performance. Yet they also point out that "observational coaching" has value, as does the approach of employing professional sales coaches to help provide a more consistent and effective sales process in the branches.
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Technology & Marketing Section Sponsored by
MARQUIS Software Solutions
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
According to a late 2011 report by Javelin Strategy and Research, financial institutions lost at least $873 million in potential revenue last year to online account opening abandonment. They found the following statistics:
- 53 percent of consumers who started the online account opening process were able to complete it and fund their accounts
- 25% abandoned the process entirely before opening an account
- 17% were able to open an account but couldn't fund it
- 5% were rejected as unqualified
In order to boost completion rates, the research firm recommends making it perfectly clear what prospective members will need to complete the process before they begin. Another best practice is to institute a review process where a real person can review incomplete applications and call and follow up with the person and help them complete the process and verify the account.
Prepaid card loads reached about $460 billion this year, according to the Mercator Advisory Group. They predict that retailers, airlines, utility companies, and government agencies will join financial services firms in offering prepaid credit cards in 2012. More prepaid card issuers will likely add credit-enhancement features to prepaid cards to attract consumers with problematic credit. Mercator expects the amount added to prepaid cards will grow by almost 50 percent to nearly $685 billion by 2016.
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Internet Access
Sprint has unveiled a new SIP (session initiation protocol) Toll Free solution that is designed to permit organizations to take advantage of their SIP trunks and existing communication system to make their own routing decisions. Sprint SIP Toll Free delivers inbound toll-free calls over SIP Trunking. Toll-free calls originate in the PSTN (public switched telephone network) and are transported over the network for delivery via an IP access facility. Sprint says that their service creates an opportunity for savings through elimination of local access lines, premise-based trunking equipment and management of multiple providers, while the single IP connection delivers traffic without costly gateways or bridges.
Some security experts contend that VPNs (virtual private networks) can give organizations a false sense of security when they assume that the encrypted tunnel is enough to lock down the communication between a remote user and their home network. Plus they note that VPNs increasingly have become an overlooked attack platform, especially in targeted attacks. We will cover VPN security in the February issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.
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Call Centers
Webko Products has made some additions to its line of headset peripherals called Headset Buddy. The new products were designed to provide support for a wide array of telephone training applications that are targeted at both business and consumer phone systems found in call centers. The new Headset Training Buddy is available in three models: dual RJ-9 female inputs and single 2.5mm male connector, dual RJ-9 female inputs and single RJ-9 male connector, and dual Cisco compatible RJ-9 female inputs and single Cisco Rj-9 male connector. All of the Headset Training Buddies have dual channel mute buttons and provide live, dynamic supervisor or training control over the active headset during calls.
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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:
March 18-22 Washington, DC - CUNA GAC
June 6-8, Las Vegas - Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference
October 7-10, Long Beach - Firefighter’s National Credit Union Summit
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