Credit Union tech-talk News

October 22 - October 26, 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

* CU*Answers Adds 7 New CU*BASE Clients
* Harland Financial Solutions Streamlines Mortgage Servicing Releases
* Valley First Credit Union Signs with Summit
* Wright-Patt Credit Union Selects Open Solutions IA Systems 

CU*Answers, a CUSO with clients in 16 states, announced several recent client contract signings to convert to its enterprise CU*BASE Processing System. These client signings include:

• Superior Choice Credit Union - Superior, Wisconsin
• Detroit Municipal Credit Union - Detroit, Michigan
• Kensington Valley Community Credit Union – Highland, Michigan
• United Educational Credit Union – Battle Creek, Michigan 
• Glacier Hills Credit Union – West Bend, Wisconsin
• Firefighters Credit Union – LaCrosse, Wisconsin 
• The Finest Credit Union – New York City, New York 

Harland Financial Solutions, a leading supplier of software and services to credit unions, announced the availability of its new Service Release Module for the Interlinq Loan Servicing system. By eliminating several manual tasks, the new application further automates loan servicing for increased member service and cost savings. 

Summit Information Systems, a business unit of Fiserv and a leader in delivering advanced core processing solutions to the credit union industry, announced that they have signed Valley First Credit Union of Penticton, British Columbia to a resource management agreement. Under the agreement, Summit will use its next-generation data and operations center in Burnaby to host, maintain and manage the servers, core applications and network infrastructure related to the Summit iSpectrum banking system for Valley First.

IA Systems, an Open Solutions business unit and a provider of lending software and services for credit unions, announced that Wright-Patt Credit Union selected StreamLend Velocity. The Fairborn, Ohio-based credit union chose the paperless, end-to-end loan origination system to better automate and accelerate its lending process while further increasing efficiency by integrating with its core provider. 

Hardware News

It appears that the all-in-one computer is making something of a comeback. Gateway has a sleek new model called the PC Gateway One, and VIA has their Fanless Ultrathin vm7700 VMPC. This slim unit attaches to the back of a monitor using a standard VESA mount and uses VIA's low power CPU which means that it is fanless and completely silent. VIA is targeting teller lines and other work spaces that want to keep their areas clutter free.

Google announced the fifth generation of its Google Search Appliance hardware. The Google Search Appliance now provides universal search capabilities to secure repositories, such as enterprise content systems. The appliance supports Microsoft Windows Integrated Authentication and can index 220 file formats. 

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

Mesa, AZ-based Better ATM Services has certified all of Diebold’s ix, iSeries and Opteva ATMs to dispense their prepaid cards. The gift cards, coupons, and instructions for using them are all dispensed out of the same slots through which cash is dispensed. In the Diebold machines, the prepaid cards are placed in one of up to four trays in a dispenser module normally used for cash. According to the two companies, the machines didn’t need any physical modifications. 

Financial Service Centers Cooperative (FSCC) announced it will host free webinars on the shared branch services available at select 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Credit unions from all across the country are invited to attend the webinars and learn about the new credit union services inside the convenience store giant. You can register by calling (888) 372-2669 ext. 1208.

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Some mobile phones have fingerprint sensors embedded in them, but now desktop phones are starting to get them as well. AuthenTec fingerprint sensors are being integrated into LG-Nortel IP phone 8540 – an innovative new phone which utilizes Microsoft’s Unified Communications solutions. AuthenTec AES1510 sensor enhances the security of the IP Phone 8540 by granting access only to authorized users, while also personalizing the phone for the currently registered user, thereby protecting data assets and sensitive company information. 

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The GSM Association (GSMA), a global trade association representing over 700 GSM mobile phone operators, and Western Union announced an agreement to facilitate the development of cross-border mobile money transfer services. They say that mobile money transfer services will make it simple, quick and affordable for more people to send small amounts of money through a conventional and regulated system. “Mobile networks now cover more than 80 percent of the world’s population and 3 billion people have a mobile phone, creating an unprecedented opportunity to extend the benefits of financial services to the majority of the world’s families for the first time,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. 

Verizon Wireless, the nation’s No. 2 mobile-phone carrier, announced that they have chosen mobile banking and payments application developer Firethorn as a strategic partner for mobile banking. Verizon Wireless and Firethorn said that they will team with financial institution partners to conduct comprehensive marketing and consumer education programs aimed at aiding and encouraging adoption. 

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Cyber-Ark is one of a half dozen small vendors that have been grouped together in an emerging security product category dubbed "privileged access management." Although these tools work differently, the general idea is to place all of the administrative passwords in a sort of escrow (Cyber-Ark calls it a vault) and mete them out only to administrators who have a real need to access the systems in question. Privileged access management systems also enable organizations to monitor the use of administrative passwords, creating an audit trail that allows forensics investigators to identify the specific user who abused a shared administrative password. 

According to the Gartner Group, many companies spend too much money on security controls such as firewalls, antivirus software and other desktop protection tools designed to defend against traditional mass attacks. They say that these products have become highly commoditized and can be deployed for far less than many companies pay for such protection. They add that such inefficiencies have resulted in average organizations spending more than 5% of their IT security budget on security, and close to 12% if disaster recovery is included. However, Gartner has seen little evidence to suggest that the more you spend on security the better your security gets. In fact, their research shows that organizations with mature security practices rarely average more than 4% of their total IT budget on security. 

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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Equifax announced the launch of a new direct marketing prospecting tool to help lenders target consumers in today's emerging credit market. Called Equifax TotalSource XL Emerging Market, this solution enables lending institutions to reach households that likely are in need of financial products and would be receptive to invitation-to-apply (ITA) offers. Created from a database containing extensive data on the unbanked market, TotalSource XL Emerging Market provides consumer selects, including demographics, lifestyles and behavioral attributes to help lenders identify households in need of financial products. Lenders then can use this information to promote ITA offers. 

Newport News-based 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union is using audio to help build their brand. They developed an "audio logo" that they use in all of their TV and radio marketing, and have partnered with Audiobrain to select 400 songs that fit their brand and to record 30 or so "ads" that run between songs. In addition, they have installed a special door chime at a pilot branch to greet members as they walk in with the audio logo. This serves the added function of alerting the branch staff that a member has entered the branch so they can be greeted in a timely fashion.

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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!

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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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Panda Security has launched Panda Security for Internet Transactions, an antifraud service for online transactions to protect clients of e-banking, pay-platforms and e-commerce against active malware. The firm says that credit unions will be able to scan PCs to ensure that users launching transactions on their websites are not affected by any malicious code, and that this eliminates the risk of passwords being stolen or other fraudulent operations. Credit unions that utilize this service can also decide how to perform the scan on clients' PCs. For example, they can require them to run a scan before entering their details, or include it as a voluntary option. The scan can also be run after the member identification process, on an intermediate web page, or on all the pages that the credit union chooses. All these parameters are managed and configured through a web console. 

Member Gateways is piloting the XCalibur card (XCard) with the help of XCard Holdings and IBM Global Engineering Solutions. The card is an electronic device that has the same look, feel, size and flexibility of conventional plastic cards, and can be used with existing point of sale devices and ATM card transactions. XCard Systems, a CUSO, will be rolling out the new card.

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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Microsoft has unveiled their unified communications platform called OCS (Office Communicators Server) 2007 for the back end and Office Communicator 2007 for the client side. Essentially an upgrade to LCS (Live Communications Server), OCS will provide a platform for IM, voice conferencing, videoconferencing, and presence. Exchange 2007 delivers messaging, calendaring, mobile e-mail, and voicemail capabilities to round out Microsoft's two-component UC vision. Some observers are saying that the software giant is now vying for "21st century dial tone" dominance with Cisco, Siemens, Nortel, IBM and others. 

Organizations with small, distributed offices have sometimes found it challenging to find a hosted VoIP solution that focuses on their needs. The larger carriers, including AT&T, Qwest, Sprint, and Verizon, offer hosted services but they have not focused entirely on businesses with small distributed offices. However, there is a company that has built its business around serving businesses with small, distributed offices with fewer than 20 people in each office. We will feature them in the November issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.

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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Resolute Solutions Corporation, a technology consulting firm, announced the availability of an integrated contact center solution: Intelligent Contact Center. The firm says that this new solution integrates five Microsoft technologies and includes a set of best practices and development accelerators for creating a highly integrated contact center solution. The Resolute Intelligent Contact Center complements the features in Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

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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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