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* CU*Answers Signs Lakes Community CU
* PSCU, BCU Sign Long Term Agreements
* Share One Records a 100% Contract Renewal Rate
* Experian Offers Credit Insight Program
West Michigan-based core data processor CU*Answers announced that Lakes Community Credit Union out of Lake Orion, MI has signed an agreement for data processing services starting in 2015.The 9,000-member credit union ($78M total assets) will be moving from an in-house processing environment to the CU*BASE SaaS (online) processing environment. In addition to core processing, Lakes Community CU will migrate to CU*Answers` online banking platform, It`s Me 247, as well as utilize IT and backup services through CU*Answers Network Services.
BCU (Vernon Hills, IL; $2.0 billion) signed a long term renewal agreement with PSCU for the company`s combined credit and debit processing solutions and online bill pay. BCU also renewed their contract for PSCU Total Member Care services, which the credit union uses to deliver customized contact center support to its 184,000 members on an after-hours and overflow basis.
Share One, a CUSO operating out of Memphis, TN, announced that they have recorded a 100% contract renewal rate for their core processing system, NewSolutions, since the processing system was introduced in 2001. Beginning in 2013 – until first quarter 2014, eighteen credit unions renewed their NewSolutions contracts with Share One.
Experian, a leading global information services company, announced its Experian Credit Insight Program is available for credit unions of all sizes. With the Experian Credit Insight Program, the member receives not only their VantageScore credit score, but also a more comprehensive picture of their credit standing with insight into items from their personal credit report that influence their score the most.
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The 12th annual CU InfoSecurity Conference will be held May 21 - 23, 2014 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, NV.
This is a one-of-a-kind conference - a security conference dedicated solely to credit unions. Highly experienced, expert speakers discuss the latest security trends as they specifically apply to credit unions. Also included is a virtual tour of The Partnership FCU and a Case Study of First Tech FCU. The CU InfoSecurity Conference is priced so that the majority of credit unions can afford it - just $395 per person and $295 for returning attendees. Topics include:
* Phishing 2.0 Exploits
* Anti-money Laundering
* DDoS Mitigation Strategies
* Advanced Log Management
* Effectively Using Data Feeds
* Owning Credit Union Networks
* Tuning Your Fight Against Fraud
* New Ways to Eliminate Malware
* Credit Union Virtual Security Tour
* Cyber Criminal Intelligence Programs
* Legal versus Enforceable eSignatures
* Building a Secure E-mail Infrastructure
* Next Generation Authentication Techniques
* Successful Security Awareness Training Programs
Click Here for information, agenda, reservations & more.
SanDisk just announced the industry's first 4TB enterprise class SAS solid state drive (SSD) in its Optimus MAX product based on 19-nanometer process technology. The company also unveiled three new Lightning II 12 Gbps performance SAS SSDs with capacities of up to 1.6TB. Along with the new drives, SanDisk confirmed that they plan to release 6TB and 8TB Optimus MAX SSDs in a 2.5-in. size next year, which would put them ahead of all other drive manufacturers.
With IBM's assistance, Sony announced a new method of storing data on magnetic tapes that results in a capacity 74 times the size of conventional tape media. The companies argue that magnetic tape storage still holds value for long term archiving which is why they developed the ability to pack 185TB into a single magnetic tape. They point out that tape technology is getting faster, it is more economical than hard disk drives and it has a smaller carbon footprint because it requires less power.
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Optimizing branch networks is becoming more important as many branches face decreased foot traffic and transactional activities. In response, Pitney Bowes has launched a new product, called Spectrum Spatial, that helps credit unions make data-driven decisions about their branch networks. The company says that the software takes all the data on your members and then puts it together with the context of the geography of your branch network.
A company called SoftWatch recently carried out a study of 51 companies and found that seven out of ten employees weren't using any single Microsoft Office application heavily, launching them only for viewing or light editing. The average employee spent only 48 minutes per day using Office, largely the Outlook email client, which consumed about 68 percent of that activity. The firm concludes that the age of the all-purpose Office suite based on monolithic licensing has probably had its day because most users simply don't use applications often enough to justify the cost. SoftWatch recommend that organizations should start by moving inactive users - 70 percent in the case of Word and 30 percent for Excel - off those applications in favor of lower cost alternatives such as Googles Apps or LibreOffice.
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Credit unions that deploy Triton ATMs can now permit both members and non-members using their ATMs to make donations from the machines to the American Heart Association, Alzheimer`s Foundation of America, National MS Society, Champions for Kids and The Humane Society. The donations can be a part of a cash withdrawal, or made as an independent transaction.
Conventional fingerprint biometrics technologies rely on unobstructed and complete contact between the fingerprint and the sensor; however in the field dry fingers or a dusty sensor can interfere with the finger/platen contact requirements of these older conventional fingerprint sensors. In response, companies such as Lumidigm, a part of HID Global, have developed multispectral imaging which uses multiple spectrums of light and advanced polarization techniques to extract unique fingerprint characteristics from both the surface of the skin and the subsurface, where fingerprint ridges have their foundation. When this “inner fingerprint” is read, the results are more consistent, more inclusive and more tamper resistant. Brazil`s second largest state-owned bank, Caixa, is using Diebold ATMs with multispectral fingerprint readers. CAIXA customers do not use PINs - they simply insert their card and touch the fingerprint reader to withdraw their funds from the ATM.
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Here is a chance to learn about real life credit union success stories from various technology vendors through the words of their clients. This week's vendor is:
and their client is:
University of Iowa Community Credit Union
Credit Unions - if you have a vendor that you are happy with then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!
Vendors - if you have a credit union that is happy with your solutions then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will give you a $100 discount on your Case Study!
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The research firm Gartner estimates that worldwide, people spent $235.4 billion through mobile payments in 2013, compared with $163.1 billion in 2012. But that number is much smaller in North America, where consumers spent about $37 billion through mobile transactions in 2013, up from $24 billion the year before. There are many disparate parties that must come together to make mobile payments work: financial institutions, payment networks, retailers, wireless carriers and the companies that make digital wallets themselves. Aditya Khurjekar, a mobile-commerce expert who co-founded Money2020 which is a conference on emerging payments and financial services, notes that consumers do not find it bothersome to carry or use credit cards and cash, and organizations offering mobile payments must offer incentives that cash and credit cards cannot, such as coupons and discounts.
PFM (personal financial management) apps are becoming more popular on the various app stores, but until now they were dedicated to adults. Now Union Bank, in conjunction with Mutual Mobile, has developed a PFM app for kids. Called Yuby, the app does not use real money, but has features such as a chore list, an activity log, and a wish list. Although visual, Yuby does not feature graphs and charts, and targets 8-to-12 year-olds.
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The Council on CyberSecurity has found that 85% of cyber attack techniques can be prevented by implementing the "Top 4" security controls. The controls are:
1. Application Whitelisting - Only allow approved software to run.
2. Application Patching - Keep apps, plug-ins and other software up to date.
3. OS Patching - Keep operating systems current with the latest fixes.
4. Minimize Administrative Privileges - Prevent malicious software from making silent changes.
Verizon's 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report used Big Data analytics to examine 100,000 cyberattacks that occurred over the past ten years. Three main forms of cyberattacks plagued the financial services industry over the past decade:
- Web application attacks
- denial of service attacks
- payment card skimming
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Security:
Addressing the Big 3: Compliance, Fraud & Cyber Security
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Gamification is garnering more interest from financial service organizations. Research firm Gartner states that “while the current success of gamification is largely driven by novelty and hype, gamification is positioned to become a highly significant trend over the next five years.” One example is DSK Gameo which was developed by DSK Bank in conjunction with Misys. It deploys behavioral gamification aimed to change customers` savings habits by awarding points for regular transfers. It also incorporate goal setting and quiz challenges that educate customers on their products and services.
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Instant issuance allows credit unions to print debit cards directly in branches in order to provide the member with a debit card for immediate use. Instant issuance could deliver an original debit card for a new member or a replacement debit card for one that has been reported lost or stolen - or compromised in a data breach. Mercator Advisory Group's latest report, Instant Issuance of Debit Cards: The Newest Best Practice, concludes that "The question is no longer whether, but when, financial institutions in the United States will adopt the practice of instant issuance of debit cards. Instant issuance will soon cease to be a competitive differentiator. As the attitudes of the customer shift toward instant, online, and digital, enabling the customer to walk out of a branch with a fully functional debit card will soon become an expected practice for debit card issuers and retail bankers."
According to a recent Gallup poll, 29 percent of Americans do not own any credit cards, up from 22 percent in 2008. The average number of credit cards in our wallets has also gone down from 2.9 in 2008 to 2.6 cards in 2014. Some observers attribute this to the lingering effects of the Great Recession on consumers, while others point to the CARD Act which they say has made it harder for individuals under 21 to get a credit card. Other reasons could be that many issuers remain reluctant to do business with people who they deem risky, and the growth in prepaid debit cards.
The U.S. payments industry will have only partially converted to the EMV chip card standard by the deadline in 2015, according to a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research. Card issuers will have issued 166 million EMV credit cards and 105 million EMV debit and prepaid cards by the end of 2015, but this will account for just 29% and 17% of the total cards in circulation by then, according to Javelin's forecast. They predict that by 2018 card issuers will achieve "full issuance," at 96% penetration for credit and 98% for debit and prepaid.
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PSCU - The Nation's Leading CUSO
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* Electronic Banking
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Unisys is offering its new Stealth appliance, which could make man-in-the-middle attacks and keylogger exploits obsolete. Stealth, which was developed for the Defense Department back in 2005, uses four layers of security: each packet is encrypted with AES256, then split into three separate pieces and dispersed across the network, destined for a particular group of users that have to be running its protocols. Stealth's traffic is still routed by ordinary switches, firewalls and routers without any additional configuration. Stealth ships with a turnkey hardware appliance along with various client licensing options - the entry level cost is $30,000.
Hughes Network Systems has launched the HR4400 Branch Gateway. The HR4400 incorporates a few of Hughes optimization technologies: ActiveQoS enables end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) over ‘best effort` broadband circuits to help deliver consistent performance even at full network load; ActiveCompression delivers up to 20 times the network capacity as available ‘virtual bandwidth` for greater throughput and application performance without link upgrades; and Smart Classifier automatically prioritizes and optimizes data based on the traffic type. It also combines Fortinet`s security and routing technologies.
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The DMG Consulting Survey sought to find each generation's preferred communication channel. Their research came up with these results:
- Matures (born prior to 1945): landline phone
- Baby Boomers (1946 - 1964): landline phone, IVR, Web self-service, cell phone, email
- Gen X (1965 - 1976): cell phone, email, IVR, Web self-service
- Gen y (1977 - 1994): smartphone, text message, chat, instant message
- Gen Z (born after 1995): iPhone, text message, chat, instant message, YouTube
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