Credit Union tech-talk News

March 31 - April 4, 2008

• 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 Partners with uMonitor to Offer Online Account Opening
& Funding Services 
* IntelliCAT System Now Offers Interoperability with Harland Financial Solutions’ Ultradata Software
* CU*Answers Partners with eDOC Innovations
* Akcelerant Purchases TAPS software from FORUM Solutions 
* CO-OP Financial Services Licenses Saylent Technologies’ Software 

Open Solutions, a leading provider of integrated, enterprise-wide data processing technologies for credit unions throughout the United States, Canada and other international markets, and uMonitor, an innovative financial solution services provider, announced a partnership to integrate their services to facilitate online account opening and offer enhanced online banking services for credit unions. Open Solutions’ clients can easily deploy uMonitor’s uOpen & uFund, the online account opening and funding solution, and uTransfer, the account-to-account money transfer solution, with their core processing platform, online banking service or loan decisioning system. 

MagTek, a global leader in electronic payments technology, announced that MagTek’s IntelliCAT, a leading card issuance and PIN selection system, now offers interoperability with Harland Financial Solutions’ Ultradata processing software. MagTek’s IntelliCAT System allows credit unions to offer enhanced services for their various card products such as instant issuance and secure PIN selection for Debit, Credit, ATM and Gift cards. 

CU*Answers and eDOC Innovations (EDI) announced that as part of its new partnership, a primary goal would be to ensure that every credit union would be able to afford, manage and participate in e-document technology. As part of the CU*Answers/EDI shared investment for the ASP solution, the up-front cost for clients to implement this solution is minimal as compared to an in-house, self-managed solution. CU*BASE clients are only responsible for purchasing required hardware, a one-time installation fee, and travel expenses for the installation.

Akcelerant Software announced that it has purchased the TAPS lending software which includes all licenses, rights, and support of TAPS customers from FORUM Solutions. FORUM Solutions developed the first version of the TAPS software in 1999 to help FORUM Credit Union improve consumer lending processes and has continually made investments in the product since then. 

CO-OP Financial Services, the nation’s largest credit union EFT network and processor, has licensed Saylent Technologies’ portfolio optimization software to help CO-OP member credit unions identify and analyze card usage patterns. Delivered via the CO-OP website and offered in two modules – Enhanced Reporting and Business Analytics – the program gives credit unions and CUSOs the ability to report on, analyze, and increase card usage and interchange income. Credit unions can review detailed network and merchant-level reporting, estimated interchange, custom campaign management and profitability metrics.  

Hardware News

Dell has added to its PowerEdge line again, this time introducing two new systems aimed at small businesses. The PowerEdge R300 is a rack server that starts at $1,249; while the second configuration, known as the PowerEdge T300, starts at $999. The servers use the quad-core Xeon x5460 processor. Dell touts the R300 as the industry’s most energy-efficient server based on performance per watt as figured in SPECPower. 

Xerox has built a free application to help organizations use fewer copiers and printers. Called the Xerox Sustainability Calculator, the application allows businesses to figure out what sort of cost savings and environmental improvements can be had by reducing the amount of equipment installed. The company's Sustainability Calculator translates changes to environmental impact over the lifecycle of equipment including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and solid waste. The company's research shows that printing devices are used only between 1 and 2 percent of the time, and organizations can save between 20 percent and 30 percent on what they spend by reducing equipment to an optimal number.

Vyatta, a maker of open source routers, has unveiled a product for the small-to-midsize business market. The Vyatta 514 is a networking appliance that combines the company's open source routing and security software with a small-form-factor hardware platform. The product features integrated routing, firewall, and VPN capabilities to connect small businesses and branch offices to the Internet or private networks. With Linux-based open source routing software on x86 commodity processing hardware, Vyatta claims it can offer functionally equivalent routing at a fraction of the cost of leading manufacturers. The company recently disclosed results of a study that it claims showed a 10-fold increase in price/performance over a Cisco 7200 router. The Vyatta 514 pricing starts at $697.

Back to Top

Back to Top

ATMs/Kiosks

Mid-tier ATM manufacturer WRG Services has launched a company-wide recycling program. It covers the recycling of ATM-related parts, such as old CPU units, as well as encouraging employees to recycle everything from copy paper to aluminum cans. 

Worldwide, South Korea boasts of having the highest density of ATMs of about 1600 such machines per million of population. The US has 1300 ATMs per million of people. While India has only 28 ATMs per million of population, they are surprisingly advanced with their technology. Some ATMs are wireless and many are beginning to support biometric technology that can be used in the place of PIN codes. 

Back to Top

Critics of biometric security systems that rely on fingerprint recognition have always maintained that they can be easily fooled by anything bearing a copy of the expected fingerprint. Now, a new development from Japan eliminates that flaw. NTT's technology allows fingerprint sensors to determine whether or not they are in contact with a real human finger by passing electricity across two electrodes. The conductivity of a flesh and blood digit is easily recognized and can be distinguished from a plastic copy that contains the same fingerprint pattern.

Back to Top

Washington State has passed a bill making it a Class C felony to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to spy on someone. Washington state began using enhanced driver's licenses this winter that use RFID tags and can be used at the Canadian/U.S. border crossing instead of a passport. In light of these new ID cards and the growing number of RFID-based customer-loyalty and credit cards, Washington's legislators felt that it was time for a law that protects people's privacy in regards to RFID.

35 million contactless payment cards (branded with MasterCard PayPass, Visa payWave or American Express ExpressPay) have been issued in the U.S., with 400,000 readers in place at 80,000 merchant locations, according to ViVOtech. By some estimates, issuance will grow to 50 to 60 million cards in 2008.

Obopay, a service provider of payments via mobile phones, announced that their customers can now use their existing financial institution accounts to send and receive money via their mobile phone. With Obopay's mobile money transfer, non-customers can pick up payments without signing up for Obopay. Anyone can pick up money received by having it deposited directly into their existing account or by requesting a check, without having to sign up with Obopay. 

Back to Top

Tenable Security just released the new version 3.2.0 of their Nessus vulnerability scanner. Nessus is a free and very powerful tool for vulnerability scanning. It includes vulnerability and information plug-ins for thousands of services and operating systems. Nessus uses a client-server model where the Nessus daemon is running as a service, and the Nessus client can run both GUI and command-line implementations. 

Sunbelt Software is preparing to release a new desktop security product that combines antivirus and antispyware protection through a combination of signature, behavior and heuristics detection methods. The Windows-based software is called VIPRE, which stands for "Virus Infection Prevention and Remediation Engine." The enterprise version of VIPRE will start around $23 per user. Packaged offerings will include a three-pack license for $40 and a 25-pack for $736. 

Back to Top

Security:

Perimeter, Host and Endpoint Security – Finding the Right Mix

Arcot - http://www.arcot.com   Read R. 'Doc' Vaidhyanathan's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Arcot.pdf

Astaro - http://www.astaro.com Read Alex Quinonez's comments: http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Astaro.pdf

Code Green Networks - http://www.codegreennetworks.com   Read Brian Czarny's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/CGN.pdf

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

e-DMZ Security - http://www.e-dmzsecurity.com   Read Kris Zupan's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/e-DMZ.pdf

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

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

HEIT - http://www.goheit.com   Read Dan Holt's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Heit.pdf

Integrated Computer Solutions - http://www.icsinc.com   Read Stephen Goldsby's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/ICS.pdf

MagTek - http://www.magtek.com   Read Kiran Gandhi's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/MagTek.pdf

Netsecuris - http://www.netsecuris.com   Read Leonard Jacobs' comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Netsecuris.pdf

Network Box - http://www.networkboxusa.com   Read Pierluigi Stella's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/NetworkBox.pdf

Perimeter eSecurity - http://www.perimeterusa.com   Read Kevin Prince's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Perimeter.pdf

Proofpoint - http://www.proofpoint.com   Read Sandra Vaughan's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Proofpoint.pdf

Sydel - http://www.sydelcorp.com   Read Antonio Gonzalez's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Sydel.pdf

TraceSecurity - http://www.tracesecurity.com   Read Jim Stickley's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/TraceSecurity.pdf

TriGeo Network Security - http://www.trigeo.com   Read Michelle Dickman's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/TriGeo.pdf

ZixCorp - http://www.zixcorp.com   Read Dena Bauckman's comments:   http://www.cunews.com/roundtable/Zix.pdf

Back to Top

According to some analysts, the business intelligence market is now dominated by four "megavendors" - IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP. This comes after these large players purchased leading independent BI firms: Business Objects (owned by SAP); Cognos (owned by IBM); and Hyperion (owned by Oracle). Although Microsoft has not made any substantial BI purchases, it has been quietly ramping up its BI and CRM efforts. Only a few large independent BI vendors remain: Information Builders, Informatica, SAS and Microstrategy.   

Back to Top

Digital Now, a provider of document delivery, exchange and digital protection services, announced a new version of DEXSAR which enables credit unions to implement a theme to establish a stronger connection with members. DEXSAR gives credit unions a solution where members can receive, protect and manage a variety of digital files and
documents – a virtual digital safe-deposit box. Information which can be delivered via the DEXSAR solution includes: statements, notices, account disclosures, completed loan documents and marketing materials. With a DEXSAR account, members can protect and manage all of their valuable digital assets such as financial or legal records, photographs, software, videos, and music.

Activa Live, a provider of on-demand live chat technology, announced the availability of Activa Live Chat 2. The latest release of the company's live chat platform introduces new features, including a redesigned operator console, expanded customizing options and integrated analytics that the firm says enables clients to improve conversion rates and increase consumer satisfaction.

The Federal Reserve’s 2007 study of the composition of the check market shows that nearly 50 percent of checks written are consumer-to-business checks. The check purpose with the highest percentage was remittance payments (payments to business and government payees that do not occur at the point of sale) at 49 percent. The report revealed that 2.6 billion consumer checks were converted and cleared as automated clearinghouse (ACH) payments rather than check payments in 2006, an eight-fold increase over 2003. The study found that 42 percent of checks sampled were ineligible for ACH conversion under the current NACHA rules. Ineligible checks include checks such as those with missing or no signature, checks greater than $25,000, and checks from businesses and the government. 

Back to Top

Aastra Telecom, a provider of standards-based corded and wireless SIP telephones, announced the launch of AastraLink ProModel 160, an IP PBX created specifically for the small business market. Aastra’s AastraLink Pro is suitable for 25 users and fewer. AastraLink Pro provides standard PBX/Key system features and functionality, along with new IP-based services such as visual voicemail delivered via XML, SIP trunking, auto discovering and self provisioning of extensions, remote teleworker, the ability to network multiple AastraLink Pro's via IP, and expanded user control via a web GUI. 

As organizations of all sizes begin to rely on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), the virtual PBX option has become a widely popular choice. A virtual PBX arrangement, in which a telephony system is provided through an Internet download and then managed by an outside service, offers a low-cost and easy-to-set-up means for an organization - especially smaller ones - to use VoIP services. Currently, the top five virtual PBX providers in the market are GotVMail, Packet8, RingCentral, Vocalocity, and VoiceNation. RingCentral and VoiceNation. 

Back to Top

Oki Electric Industry Co., has made upgrades to its contact center system, CTstage. The latest model, CTstage 5i, includes enhancements in multiple-location functionality, enhancements in statistics gathering, reporting and monitoring functions, and enhancements in linkage functions to connect with various systems.

Back to Top

Catch Tom and Bill Rogers, Associate Editor of Credit Union tech-talk at the following conferences in 2008:

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

October 15-18, Las Vegas - Firefighters' National Credit Union Summit

Back to Top