Credit Union tech-talk News

June 25 - June 29, 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

* Northwest Corporate FCU Chooses Symitar
* FTSI Announces 2nd Annual Technology Forum
* Aldergrove Credit Union Selects Open Solutions
* COCC to Move Check Processing Clients to Image Inclearing
* CU*Answers Holds Leadership Conference

Jack Henry & Associates, a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, announced that Northwest Corporate Federal Credit Union has contracted directly with Symitar for core data processing. Symitar, the Jack Henry subsidiary that provides credit unions with software systems and related services, will provide service to Northwest Corporate FCU through Symitar’s Episys-based service bureau offering. 

FTSI (Financial Technology Solutions International), headquartered in Glendale, CA, announced that their 2nd annual Technology Forum will be held at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel on August 9th & 10th. This year’s theme is “Technology Unmasked”, and a key focus will be on Check 21.

Aldergrove Credit Union, located in the heart of the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, has selected Open Solutions Inc.’s The Complete Credit Union Solution, as its core banking system platform. The credit union will also implement Open Solutions’ financial accounting suite, its asset/liability management and budget planning product, report viewing and archiving capability and electronic signature capture. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for credit unions worldwide. 

COCC, a leading provider of next generation technology services for credit unions, unveiled plans to convert a majority of its check processing clients to FedReceipt Plus, the Federal Reserve Bank’s image inclearing product. Currently, 40% of COCC’s outgoing cash letter clients exchange images electronically, and 16% utilize image inclearing. COCC’s current pipeline of image implementations will bring the percentage of clients who use image exchange to 55% of the total. 

At its recent 2007 Leadership Conference, CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes revealed some technology plans for the near future. He showed the prototype of their newly designed online banking platform, “It’s me 247”, and discussed the planned roll out of SPSD (Single Pay Short Duration) credit transactions which will assist credit unions with implementing payday lending systems.

Hardware News

Power and cooling continue to be big issues as systems become smaller and more powerful. Emerson Network Power has come out with the Liebert vEM-14 to help IT Departments keep tabs on power demands and cooling needs. The vEM-14 is a network-enabled device that can be remotely monitored from any Web-enabled computer. It combines environmental monitoring with power management so users can prevent overheating and power overload with just one piece of hardware. Users can set acceptable levels of power usage and heat output, and then set paging or e-mail notifications based on different levels of seriousness when those levels are exceeded.

Blade servers are no longer on the bleeding edge, but some analysts still recommend using rackmount systems. However, blade proponents like to point out that blade servers are more economical when it comes to power and cooling. Detractors agree that while blades offer a number of benefits, they also result in vendor lock-in since blades must fit in a specific chassis and be fitted with specific components. Also, while blades may be easier to service, some applications, such as those that require more onboard storage, run better on rack servers. In terms of overall performance, many observers believe that blades and rackmount servers generally perform equally.

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

At Diebold's recent The Advisory Group (TAG) conference, financial institutions that deploy ATMs came together to discuss the latest trends in ATMs. This years hot topics were: deposit automation (envelope-free bulk-check and bulk-note deposits); security (both electronic and physical); personalization; and compliance issues (ADA, 3DES, etc).

While most credit unions are holding off on envelope-free deposits due to the high cost of the new machines that have this functionality, check deposits without the use of envelopes can reduce credit unions' per-check processing costs to 60 cents from $1.60 according to the TowerGroup. Some analysts believe that eventually envelopes will disappear from ATMs due to their inherent inefficiencies: the physical check can come in contact with numerous people — from the armored courier who made the pickup to the person opening envelopes and verifying its contents. Plus check imaging at the ATM cuts down on empty envelope fraud, which is estimated to cost ATM deployers $420 million a year.

Every credit union that deploys ATMs should provide ongoing education to their members when it comes to ATM security. In the July issue of Credit Union tech-talk, we will provide some tips that will help your members combat ATM fraud in any form - subscribe now.

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Last week we covered the new Apricorn biometric hard disk that comes in 80GB, 120GB and 160GB capacities, but there are much larger options available. For example, LaCie announced it has boosted capacity of its d2 SAFE Hard Drive to a massive 1TB in a compact 2"x6"x7" solution. The d2 SAFE Hard Drive is equipped with a biometric sensor, 128-bit AES hardware encryption technology, and chain lock port for maximum protection against unauthorized use. Up to 10 fingerprints (five users with minimum two prints each) can be registered with personal and customized access privileges such as full access to the disk (read/write) or read-only. 

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Verizon, the number two wireless carrier, will offer consumers the opportunity to make purchases and conduct person-to-person funds transfers via their mobile phones using technology from privately-held Obopay. The Obopay service comes with a pre-paid MasterCard, which can be used at any ATM or retail outlet that accepts MasterCard. Subscribers can check their account balances, collect money owed from other mobile users, view transaction histories, and invite friends to use the service. 

Silicon Valley-based KeyPoint Credit Union announced the roll out of their “Go KeyPoint”
free mobile banking services that makes it possible to use cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs to access accounts. Mobile access to online banking services at KeyPoint include: Bill Pay, Funds Transfers between KeyPoint accounts, the ability to Check Rates, Locate Branches and ATMs as well as View Transaction History. KeyPoint partnered with MShift to offer the new service.

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According to security software vendor Promisec, their research has uncovered 10 major areas of security problems. They are: USB Devices; Peer-to-Peer File Sharing; Antivirus Problems; Outdated Microsoft Service Packs; Missing Security Agents; Unauthorized Remote-Control Software; Media Files; Unnecessary Modems; Unauthorized or Unsecured Synchronization Software; and Wireless Connectivity.

Startup vendor Sentrigo has unveiled a new database security tool that they claim can detect database intrusions at a granular level and shut them down in real time. Hedgehog is a software-only monitoring tool that attaches sensors to the cache memory of a database machine. It then detects any access by outsiders or insiders, and it can track the specific changes made at the object level. In the next two weeks, Sentrigo will launch a free trial of the software, which will remain free for small and medium-sized businesses. Larger enterprises will be able to try out the software for free, and if they choose to deploy it, they will pay a one-time fee of $2,000 per CPU.

Meanwhile another startup, Palo Alto Networks, has come out with what they say is a new type of firewall that can distinguish between the many types of applications that now run over HTTP and Internet connections. The firm, which has executives from Check Point, Juniper, NetScreen, and OneSecure, claims that their new hardware can also recognize different types of application traffic that runs over encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) links. The startup's new firewall is designed to identify traffic from more than 400 different applications, and they will create signatures for custom applications as well. The PA-4020, which operates at 2 Gbit/s and adds only 20 microseconds to network latency in a typical transaction, costs $35,000. 

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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Online Banking: 

Embraced by Members - The Next Steps

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

GalaxyPlus - http://www.galaxyplus.com   Read Jay Slavin's comments:     http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/GalaxyPlus.pdf

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

Microsoft - http://www.microsoft.com Read Greg Haislip's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Microsoft.pdf

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

uMonitor - http://www.towergroup.com   Read George Tubin's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/TowerGroup.pdf

uMonitor - http://www.umonitor.com   Read Dinesh Sheth's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/uMonitor.pdf

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

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According to CardData the number of reward credit cards in the U.S. has grown from 290 million in 2002 to 490 million in 2006. Credit unions looking to provide rewards for their credit cards should consider cash back as a reward. That is because a new CardTrak survey found that 56% of consumers prefer cash back on their credit cards, while 23% said they favored air miles. About 12% preferred points and only 9% selected automatic rebates or discounts as their favorite rewards. 

Member of Utah-based America First Credit Union can now customize their VISA gift cards with personalized photos. Gift cards from $10 to $750 can be customized online at the credit union’s site by uploading a photo to customize the appearance of the card. They will then receive their cards in the mail in about a week.

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According to the Aite Group, financial institutions will give expedited bill payments a big boost in the next few years. According to their survey, other online banking features financial institutions seem likely to introduce in the next two years include a single sign-on across websites, and targeted marketing technologies to drive cross selling and upselling. Some 50% of respondents also said they are likely to definitely likely to offer rewards to online bankers for using online bill payment. 

VISA USA has introduced an online "Summer Travel Budgeting Center" which features a free, Web-based budget calculator called the "Travel Wizard." VISA's Travel Wizard helps consumers decide between necessary and flexible expenses by walking them through the process of preparing a travel budget with an interactive checklist and corresponding travel tips. Users can build budgets for meals, hotels and entertainment expenses and make spending adjustments before traveling.

CU Exceed has launched a new web-based tool dubbed PURLS (Personal URL System). The program features an individualized web page designed for every person on a credit union’s targeted mailing list. Members first receive a direct-mail postcard inviting them to visit a personal website. Once logged on, the visitor is greeted by name and asked to complete an online survey fully customizable by the credit union. The survey component of PURLS includes trigger questions that give the user the option of having a credit union representative contact them directly. The system automatically generates an instant email or text message to alert a loan officer or other designated employee.

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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IPitomy, a provider of business class Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) products and services, has introduced the IP1000 which is an affordable IP PBX that comes standard with analog interfaces and can be easily connected to VoIP Service Providers. Targeted for organizations with 10 to 50 users, the system is configured through web-based administration to support remote extensions, integrate with branch offices and enable call forwarding to home extensions and/or cell phones. The IP 1000 offers features an integrated conference bridge, and a Unified Messaging component that has over 50 hours of voice storage that can be accessed by twenty simultaneous users. 

Nortel announced that is introducing a program that will make unified communications easier for Nortel’s business customers to buy and deploy. The program, called UC 1-2-3, offers “ready-to-use” converged VoIP and data applications and it is designed to streamline the selection, purchasing, and deployment of unified communications products with "pre-engineered, pre-configured packages." The unified communications business bundles can be packaged to include a full suite of third-party and Nortel’s own unified communications applications, or they can be deployed in phased stages to help with budgets and network requirements. 

Polycom and Apparent Networks announced a new remote network assessment tool that they say helps to maximize VoIP deployments and ensures quality service. The new AppCritical Remote Network Assessment (RNA) tool offers their customers a way of remotely checking network readiness and troubleshooting before the VoIP installation.

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The 2007 Global Contact Center Benchmarking report from Dimension Data measures various factors that affect call centers. They found that the three most important business drivers for contact centers were to improve service at 24%, to increase sales and revenue at 15% and to increase efficiency at 14%. In terms of technology trends, 23% percent of all contact centers indicated that self-service channels were the most important trend affecting them today, while another 21% cited process optimization as having the biggest impact.

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

August 9-10, Pasadena - Financial Technology Solutions International Technology Forum

October 10-13, Albuquerque - Firefighters' National Credit Union Summit

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