Credit Union tech-talk News

September 10 - September 14, 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

* Jack Henry Partners with HealthEquity for HSAs
* Open Solutions Selected as “Top 10 Technology Companies to Watch”
* Perimeter eSecurity Adds New Service
* Top CU Executives Attend Raddon's CEO/Directors’ Forum

Jack Henry & Associates, a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, announced it has established a strategic alliance with HealthEquity, a leading administrator of health savings accounts (HSAs). This alliance will enable Jack Henry & Associates to offer its credit union clients a turnkey administration solution for HSAs. 

Open Solutions, a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and international markets, announced that it was recently named by Bank Technology News as one of the “Ten Technology Companies to Watch.”

Perimeter eSecurity, a top provider of complete eSecurity on demand, announced the rollout their new System Virus and Spyware Protection service. The service will include multi-layered reporting by individual users, individual groups, individual systems; real-time notification of events; daily, weekly, monthly summary emails; and more.

Raddon Financial Group (RFG), a provider of research-based solutions to the financial industry, hosted the CEO/Directors’ Forum for CEOs and directors of credit unions with assets in excess of $500 million. The forum, held last month, attracted more than 60 of the nation’s top credit union executives and brought them together for an interactive discussion of the opportunities and challenges facing large credit unions.

Hardware News

Sinu is a unique IT outsourcer in that they provide a small organization's IT foundation for a set price per month ($125 per user per month), and claims it will fix anything, and everything, that doesn't work to your satisfaction. The company developed a Linux-based server platform which it installs and manages remotely, and provides a hosted Exchange e-mail server for each customer. A contract network of several thousand techs around the country provides the hands-on service needed for installation, wiring and any follow up visits. If your server breaks, the company replaces it, no extra fee. And if you outgrow your server, the company says it will add new hard disks or upgrade the server for free. Sinu has been in business since 2004 and has about 50 clients ranging from five to 200 people.

Konica Minolta introduced the bizhub C30PX and bizhub C30P printers that deliver fast color output at 31 pages per minute. The bizhub C30P Series is designed to be a full-color network solution and has some interesting options:

• Optional Staple Finisher featuring 30-sheet stapling, job separation and offset stacking, with two output bins. 
• Up to two optional 500-Sheet Lower Feeders increasing input to 1,600 sheets
• Automatic Duplex Unit for double-sided color printing

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.

Back to Top

Back to Top

ATMs/Kiosks

To assist credit unions in determining if outsourcing is right for them, Diebold has launched the Outsourcing Assessment Center. This interactive tool allows credit unions to evaluate their current ATM channel against industry standards to see if outsourcing can positively impact their bottom lines. Diebold says that the average cost of operating an individual ATM per year is estimated at more than $25,000. 

An Indian technology firm with a long track record of technology innovation is looking to sell low cost, Linux-based ATMs with biometric features. The company boasts of more than 140 clients in the US, UK and Africa, mostly governments and financial institutions. Learn more about their technology in the October issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.

In observance of the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi-based ATM
manufacturer Triton donated an ATM to Keesler Federal Credit Union as a symbol of the company's commitment to the rebuilding and recovery of the region. Keesler FCU, which Triton employees are eligible to join, is the largest credit union in the state with more than 185,000 members and 13 branches in South Mississippi. The donated unit, an FT7000, went into production last month and is Triton's first full-function, through-the wall ATM designed for financial institutions.

Back to Top

South Africa-based Capitec Bank relies on biometrics for its employees both in its branches and on the road. Employees log-in via biometrics at their 300 branches, and at their 100 mobile branches. The mobile branch uses the same biometrics and cameras as fixed branches and gains real-time connectivity via 3G wireless connectivity.

Back to Top

Aite Group anticipates that the active base of mobile banking users in the US could reach over 1.6 million by year-end 2007, rapidly rising to 35 million users by the end of 2010. According to their report, titled Mobile Banking v.2.0: Time for the Perfect Storm?, the time is right for financial institutions to revisit offering mobile banking solutions, after largely failing in 2001, when hype significantly outstripped reality. Today, mobile handsets and the speed and bandwidth of wireless networks are capable of enabling mobile banking without the hurdles previously encountered. The vital third element, end-user adoption, remains the uncertain factor, but looks promising. Their 43-page Impact Report contains profiles of eight vendors, including Clairmail, Firethorn, Fronde Anywhere, Fundamo, mFoundry, MShift, Paybox, and Yodlee. 

A Chicago-based startup called aKos Technology claims that by next summer, customers in the US should be sending millions of dollars to Mexico via their cell phones. The firm envisions "a virtual Western Union" using cell phones to transfer funds south of the border. AKos Technology will handle all the back-office functions of the service, including keeping track of transactions, but the service's branding and marketing will be done by prepaid wireless carriers. Established networks of local stores where people without financial institution accounts can go to pay bills with cash will handle the dispersement of funds in Mexico.

Cellular South has completed a three-month, two-city test of contactless payment via mobile phone and deemed it a success. They now plan to launch a commercial version of their WirelessWallet service early next year.

Back to Top

Nmap is a popular network exploration and security auditing tool written by Gordon Lyon (AKA as Fyodor). He has developed a list of the top 100 network security tools (excluding Nmap). It is available at: http://sectools.org/.

Effective September 28, 2007, financial institutions that originate ACH transactions (ODFIs) will be required to notify NACHA in the event of a known or suspected data breach involving consumer-level ACH data. Under the new policy, an ODFI is “required to notify NACHA if it knows or reasonably suspects: (i) that ACH Data in its control or the control of one of its Originators or third party services providers has been lost, stolen or otherwise subject to unauthorized access, and (ii) that misuse of such information has occurred or is reasonably possible.” The new requirements specify what information must be made available to NACHA and require that information about the incident be made available to affected consumer financial institutions. 

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.

Back to Top

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

Back to Top

The Phoenix Payments Research Practice has announced results of recent research concluding that "the shift to debit card usage creates opportunities for banks to increase customer loyalty and deepen their wallet share with their existing customers." The report also noted that "debit cardholders are not nearly as likely to switch entire banking relationships to take advantage of a competitors' offer as many consumers do with their credit cards." If given the option to pay bills using cards, consumers prefer to use debit cards over credit cards by a wide margin. Many consumers want to avoid paying bills with credit cards, even if it means bypassing rewards that could be gained by using their credit cards. 

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.

Back to Top

Research firm Celent has released a new report entitled “Best Practices in RDC: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Deployers.” They say that by the end of 2007, over 4,000 financial institutions will have remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions — the fastest technology adoption in US financial services history. Key findings of the report include:

• Seven distinctive habits are shared among highly effective RDC deploying institutions. These habits include:

1) A robust vision for the RDC opportunity
2) Senior level management sponsorship
3) A realistic risk assessment
4) A significant investment in sales & marketing with clear objectives
5) Involvement at the branch level
6) Specific and incremental sales incentives
7) A sense of urgency, knowing that first-mover advantage is waning

Billers are gaining more control of consumer payment choices through their online and direct-debit offerings and this control results in more ACH payments for credit unions and less usage of their online banking bill pay service. Consumers are also increasingly paying their bills with credit and debit cards. If credit unions could get their members to use either of these options to pay their bills, they could increase member loyalty and create a substantial revenue stream from even a relatively small amount of card bill payment. We will cover this subject in the October issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.

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.  

Back to Top

During the recent VoiceCon Fall show, IBM announced a deal with Siemens to license elements of Siemens’ OpenScape technology; plus they launched the next phase of its unified communication and collaboration (UC2) strategy by expanding its IBM Lotus Sametime software with new telephony integration software. By partnering with Siemens, IBM will improve the presence capabilities of its products, adding add click-to-call, click to conference, rules-based call control, and multi-vendor PBX support. IBM’s plans aren’t expected to have a negative effect on the existing partnerships IBM has with Nortel, Siemens, or others. The second set of announced enhancements includes upgrades for collaboration and integration offering features like IM, contact list management features, persistent group chat, screen sharing, and on-premise Web conferencing along with a wider integration with Microsoft Office and Outlook.

Phishers were exceptionally busy in June, with a near-record number of unique online attacks hitting consumers’ PCs during the month, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. However, there was good news: The population of websites hosting phishing attacks dropped for the second month in a row, to 31,709, after hitting a record 55,643 in April. Plus, the number of unique keylogger applications rose only slightly, to 222, while the population of sites hosting malware fell to 2,660 from 3,353. 

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

Back to Top

Many call center expert say that recognition programs help improve morale and performance. Some centers put high performing agents into pools for monthly drawings for coupons from local businesses, logo wear, gift certificates, etc. Others prefer time off for agents that meet target goals such as adherence to schedule, clerical time, average call handling time, no sick leave, etc. However, many shun the use of money because it is considered income and therefore subject to income tax.

Back to Top

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

September 20, Las Vegas - Security Conference California/Nevada Credit Union Leagues

October 4-5, Destin - CUES Fall 2007 Council Meeting

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

November 8-10, San Diego - CU InfoTECH

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

Back to Top