Credit Union tech-talk News

October 15 - October 19, 2007

• 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

* Open Solutions and BANKDetect Extend Partnership 
* Jack Henry Acquires Check 21 Service Provider AudioTel
* Pioneer Valley FCU Deploys Summit Spectrum
* Prism Microsystems Launches EventTracker v6

Open Solutions, a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for credit unions across the United States, Canada and international markets, and BANKDetect, a knowledge-based technology company that focuses on loss prevention and compliance for financial industries, announced they have extended their partnership referral agreement to include additional risk mitigation, fraud, compliance and anti-money laundering solutions. Since 2002, Open Solutions has offered its clients integrated access to BANKDetect’s RiskTracker – A3, an installed account activity analysis system that analyzes daily transactions to detect and highlight a wide variety of fraud threats, as well as RiskFinder, an installed new account screening system that performs identity verification, searches the OFAC and PLC lists and provides composite risk assessment of new members. 

ProfitStars, a division of Jack Henry & Associates which provides specialized products and services that enable credit unions to mitigate risks, optimize revenue, and contain costs, announced the acquisition of Texas-based AudioTel Corporation. AudioTel provides proven remittance, merchant capture, check imaging, document imaging and management, and telephone and Internet banking solutions. 

Pioneer Valley Federal Credit Union of Springfield, MA, has successfully deployed the Summit Spectrum On-Line core processing solution. Summit Information Systems, a business unit of Fiserv, is a leader in delivering advanced core processing solutions to the credit union industry.

Prism Microsystems announced the availability of EventTracker 6.0 – the latest version of its enterprise event management solution that enables ‘logging in depth’ for compliance, security and network visibility. This new release delivers architectural and performance enhancements, more powerful analysis features, and an enhanced reports console.

Hardware News

Seagate Technology has announced that its SV35 Series hard drives, specifically designed for optimal performance in digital video surveillance (DVR) systems, now have a top capacity of 1 terabyte, providing about thirty two full days of high-resolution video streaming. Surveillance DVR systems are overwhelmingly replacing closed-circuit television and non-technical surveillance and security systems. Hard-drive storage is a critical component in DVR systems, and high-resolution image capture moves the quality of stored video from grainy and marginally useful to crisp and detailed. 

Dell just announced On-Demand Desktop Streaming, a server-based software, hardware, and services offering that streams the OS, applications, and data to diskless desktop clients. The system will reside on a shared PowerEdge 2950 server, and use the Citrix Provisioning Server software to stream the OS, applications and data to OptiPlex-based 745 and 755 desktop clients. "This is not a thin client or blade PC," a Dell spokesperson said. Unfortunately, each virtual server with the system costs $1,100 per client and supports up to 100 clients, and requires a Gigabit Ethernet network. 

Blade technology dominates future plans in large data centers, but now it is moving downstream to smaller organizations. We will cover a new system in the November issue of Credit Union tech-talk that is fairly affordable and runs in rooms cooled by standard office air conditioning - subscribe today.

MagTek®’s ExpressCard 1000 is the industry’s first “ALL-IN-ONE” instant issuance and complete card personalization platform forCredit, Debit, ATM, and Financial Gift Cards designed to fit securely and comfortably within a branch location.

For the first time, card personalization features such as color card-printing, magstripe encoding, smartcard encoding, card embossing, indent printing, and foil tipping have been combined into a single device which provides both the physical and logical security features required to meet the demands of a branch or retailer’s card issuing environment.

Equipped with MagnePrint® card authentication technology (www.magneprint.com), the ExpressCard 1000 offers the capability to capture the card's reference MagnePrint at the time of card issuance so that reference value may be used in conjunction with complementary risk management analytics with card present transactions. The ExpressCard 1000 can be connected as a peripheral to MagTek’s IntelliCAT and MCAPS 3000 PIN selection and instant issuance software suites creating a complete and secure card issuing platform.

For more information on ExpressCard 1000, go to www.magtek.com or call your MagTek sales representative at 800-788-6835.

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ATMs/Kiosks

ATM ram raids (or smash and grabs) are increasing. An Australian firm by the name of Leda-Vannaclip has developed what they say is a better bollard system for protecting ATMs. While ATM anchors that tie the bollard to a spot are beneficial, the company claims that the only proven way to stop ATM thieves is with a bollard system that considers impact protection, footings and cutting resistance. 

At the recent ATM, Debit & Prepaid forum, Wincor Nixdorf demonstrated its third-generation check/cash deposit module (the CCDM) on its ProCash 2100, a lobby ATM. The CCDM allows users to deposit up to 50 notes or 50 checks at one time. While the checks and cash are accepted in the same slot, they can't be mixed together. 

CO-OP Shared Branching, a division of CO-OP Financial Services, has developed CO-OP Fast Branch, a self-service kiosk that supplies more services than a conventional ATM, including deposits by check (no envelopes, no deposit slips), withdrawals by check, loan payments and advances. Carroll Beach, President/CEO of CUSC, which recently combined its shared branching operations with CO-OP Financial Services, said "CO-OP Fast Branch gives members convenient access to all of their accounts, make loan payments, deposits, pull statements of all accounts and avoid teller lines."

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Many security experts believe that the key to defeating newer online banking threats is to add layers of security beyond sign-on. Some credit unions are turning to biometrics to battle man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser attacks. We will cover one system in the November issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.

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A new report entitled “Mobile Banking Vendors: Tackling the Technology-Distribution Tradeoff” from Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm, looks at competing mobile banking technologies and their vendors. Key findings of the report include:

• Celent predicts that FIs will increasingly adopt mobile browsers and that more vendors will expand their offerings to support this modality.

• For the past 10 years, mobile phone adoption has grown to the point where such devices are considered to be a necessity in consumers’ lives. Mobile device penetration is at about 76% and is anticipated to grow to 80% by 2008. With so many mobile devices in the hands of US consumers, the most vital building block of the mobile banking infrastructure is already in place.

• Celent estimates that 3% of all households using online banking in 2007 will also use some form of mobile banking. In 2010, this figure is estimated to rise to 30%, the equivalent of 17 million households.

Visa has begun offering its customers Visa Micro Tag, a key-fob payment device embedded with its payWave contactless technology. Cardholders who choose to use the device will be able to pay for purchases by waving it in front of a smartcard reader at a point-of-sale terminal. Visa's Micro Tags can be customized by the issuing credit union, and are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, from flat to three-dimensional. 

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Authentium, a developer of system-level security toolkits and security software-as-as-service platforms, announced the release of the Authentium VERO Secure Online Banking Solution software development kit. The VERO (Virtual Environment, Restricted Operations) toolkit enables credit unions to choose from a range of security approaches, including session virtualization, secure browsing, secure messaging to the desktop, and in-line anti-malware scanning. 

Zecurion announced the availability of Zserver Suite 5.0, a new version of its popular software that protects corporate information on servers, hard drives, SAN-storage, magnetic tapes and CD/DVD. Zserver Suite 5.0 allows multithreaded transparent encryption, adds encryption key management functionality and application rights management on encrypted disks. The new version also includes extended encryption key generation and management functionality, and advancements in application rights management on the encrypted disks. A member database, for example, can be accessed only via its regular database application, but not via Windows Explorer or any other file management tool. 

MAGENSA™ is a trusted verification authority (TVA) that provides real-time remote-hosted credential authentication services. These services enable credit unions, financial institutions, businesses, and government agencies to integrate PCI DSS and FFIEC multi-factor authentication and end-to-end data encryption capabilities into their existing processing environments without the need for substantial financial investments or massive changes to the existing infrastructure.

Specifically tailored to enhance the security of internet banking and ATM applications, MAGENSA delivers unprecedented security and authentication using the familiar magstripe card credentials (secure tokens) that a credit union has already issued to its members. MAGENSA is powered by the trusted and proven card authentication technology known as MagnePrint® (www.magneprint.com). MagnePrint differentiates a members’ authentic magstripe card from an altered or counterfeit version, transforming the traditional magstripe card into a powerful security token.

MAGENSA’s Secure Data Center (SDC), a reliable 24x7 operations center that is maintained 365 days a year, simplifies the integration of data decryption and MagnePrint scoring into existing websites, and allows for data federation across institutional domains.

For more information on MAGENSA, please visit www.magensa.net or call 877.MAGENSA.

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Core Systems: 

Using Core Systems to Increase Loans and Deposits

AFTECH - http://www.aftech.com   Read Joseph Antellocy's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/AFTECH.pdf

COCC - http://www.cocc.com   Read Mark Shaw's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/COCC.pdf

CU*Answers - http://www.cuanswers.com   Read Randy Karnes' comments:     http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/CUAnswers.pdf

Enhanced Software Products - http://www.espsolution.net   Read Matt Lefler's comments:    http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/ESP.pdf

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

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

IntegraSys - http://www.integrasys.fiserv.com Read Anne Stauch's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/IntegraSys.pdf

Open Solutions - http://www.opensolutions.com   Read Michael Nicastro's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/OSI.pdf

ShareOne - http://www.shareone.com   Read Daryl Tanner's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/ShareOne.pdf

Summit Information Systems - http://www.summitsite.com   Read Kevin Sparks' comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Summit.pdf

Symitar - http://www.symitar.com   Read Kathy Hooker Burress' comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Symitar.pdf

USERS - http://www.users.com   Read Eric Panepinto's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/USERS.pdf

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Many Internet marketers have deduced that email marketing faces the worst crisis since its discovery. They base this conclusion on the massive increase of unsolicited emails and diminished click percentages. Some email marketing experts recommend that you avoid words and phrases like free, discount, bonus, opportunity, income, etc. in your messages to members. There is software that provides spamcheck features for that and free services as well. One free service can be found at http://spamcheck.sitesell.com 

Filene Research Institute’s i3 Innovation project has released a list of seven innovative programs that credit unions have developed. They can be accessed here:
http://filene.org/home/i3/join 

Grow your membership and your revenue with a unique youth program, plus get $1 for each card sign-up!

Unique tools for member growth, a way to differentiate yourself in the market and a great revenue generator. PAYjr is the youth program that will help you grow your CU with younger members. It is not just marketing material to send out to members, but the tools to help them learn money management.

We offer a turn-key branding solution that allows you to offer financial education, an online chore and allowance program and a teen prepaid card that teens can design themselves! These programs show your involvement in your community and will help parents show their kids how to earn and save money the smart way. The online chore and allowance program schedules chores and tracks their completion, making chores interactive and fun for the whole family. The prepaid Visa Buxx card is a great tool for teens to learn how to budget and it is a great revenue generator for you. Get $1 for each card sign-up!

Check out our site where you can design your own prepaid card: www.PAYjrVisaBuxx.com

Contact Information & For Partnership Opportunities:


Jessica Stroud
Jessica@payjr.com
(214) 618-7037

www.PAYjrCorp.com 

The PAYjr Visa Buxx® Card is issued by BankFirst, Sioux Falls, SD, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. BankFirst; Member FDIC.

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Western Union and Yodlee announced that the companies have joined forces to offer a range of online payment capabilities, including expedited payments, for online bill-pay users. They say that the program is the first ever capable of linking credit unions’ online bill-payment services directly to Western Union’s thousands of billers. These payment capabilities are featured in Yodlee’s new Yodlee BillPay PayItAll solution which offers same-day or next-day payment of online bills. Credit unions will set the prices for the service. 

A First Data survey of 3,500 U.S. debit cardholders reveals that, over the past five years, consumers' average PIN-based debit card POS activity has grown from nine transactions per month to 11. The average total number of monthly signature-based debit POS transactions rose by 38 percent in the last year from 13 to 18 transactions per month. While a new TowerGroup report entitled, “Crediting Debit: How Debit Cards Will Grow in a Changing Environment,” concurs with the First Data survey in terms of growing usage and a bright outlook, the research firm notes that the “activation rate is the largest challenge in the debit card industry.” Financial institutions largely have themselves to blame for the low activation rate (an estimated 55% of issued cards) because according to TowerGroup “they are given out almost automatically when accounts are opened, often without instructions on how to use them.” 

Stewart Title is targeting credit unions with their online mortgage management system called SureClose. The system coordinates real estate professionals with lenders and title agents, allowing homebuyers and sellers to monitor the status of their loans and to receive their title policy, loan and deed documents at the same time as the purchase of their house. Texas Dow Employees Credit Union is using the system to streamline their mortgage operations and they say that the system allows them to approve loans online in two minutes. 

Revolutionary Convergence of Security Technology for Secure Internet Banking!

MagneSafe^TM P55 is a portable card reader/authenticator with four key technologies for secure online banking: Cardholder Data Encryption, MagnePrint^® card authentication technology, Website Authentication and Track 1, 2 and 3 card reading capabilities. In conjunction with MagneSafe^TM, the MagneSafe P55 is designed to offer secure, multifactor authentication for Internet banking, empowering consumers with the freedom and confidence of knowing that their transactions are protected anytime, anywhere.

MAGENSA, a Trusted Verification Authority that provides real-time, remote-hosted credential authentication services, allows credit unions to integrate PCI DSS and FFIEC compliant multifactor authentication, data encryption, website authentication, and data federation capabilities without the need for substantial financial investments or massive changes to the existing infrastructure.

For more information about the MagneSafe P55 or MAGENSA, visit www.magensa.net, or call 877.MAGENSA.  

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Hewlett-Packard has unveiled a new communications services portfolio. The HP Unified Communications portfolio integrates voice, fax, email, voicemail, video/data/audio conferencing, collaboration, wireless and mobile technologies. HP says that their UC portfolio offers an open-standards approach that encompasses HP iPAQ handheld devices, notebook and desktop PCs, printing devices, HP Halo telepresence solutions, enterprise messaging, networking tools, mobile technologies, servers, data storage, security services, management software, and collaboration and communication products.

Ifbyphone, a hosted voice infrastructure and application development company, is targeting small organizations with their new Ifbyphone 2.5 version. The 2.5 services work with any telephone system and support the integration of web-based click to call, toll free call routing and voice broadcast services. The Ifbyphone 2.5 includes:

- Click to Call with Custom Dialog Forms
- Integrated Call Routing and Reporting
- Find Me
- Virtual Voice Mail
- Virtual Receptionist
- Outbound Voice Broadcast
- Web Configured Voice Dialogs
- Backend Database Integration
- A Complete Call Management API

T1s, VoIP, DSL, VPNs… We Have You Covered!

The credit union world changes fast and technology must keep up. Ewart Technologies has solutions that can help your credit union stay on top. Covad’s voice and data services, along with our robust VPN solutions, integrate seamlessly to provide your organization with flexible, affordable communications.

Since 1997, Ewart Technologies, Inc. has been a trusted solutions provider for credit unions, offering a full range of technology services designed to maximize the value of IT investments.

Whether your organization simply needs a T1, DSL, Hosted VoIP, or PRI replacement, or you don’t have a clue what any of that means and need help wading through the techno-jargon to find a solution that makes sense, Ewart Technologies can help.

Call us today, toll-free at 877.241.1490, or visit us at: www.EwartTechnologies.com

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Interactive Intelligence announced a major upgrade to its enterprise VoIP and contact center automation software platforms. Customer Interaction Center 3.0 (CIC) and Vonexus Enterprise Interaction Center 3.0 (EIC) have been updated with new integration, deployment, security and mobility features. The company has boosted CIC and EIC integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server and Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. Auto-provisioning is now included for Polycom phones, as is automated service updates, and an enhanced version of the desktop client. Plus, the systems now support end-to-end call encryption; recording encryption; and public and private key certificates.

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Catch Tom and Bill Rogers, Associate Editor of Credit Union tech-talk at the following conferences in 2007:

November 8-10, San Diego - CU InfoTECH

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

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