Your source for the latest technology information of interest to credit unions across America.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and stay on top of the latest technology trends in Hardware, Software, ATMs, Biometrics, Wireless, Online Banking, Marketing, Security, Internet Access and Call Centers.
This Week's News is Sponsored by Better Branches ~
Four Indiana CUs Select Sharetec Core
Sharetec System announced that four more Indiana CUs have selected Sharetec to be their next core system. All four credit unions will be making the switch sometime in the next year: Central Soya FCU, located in Decatur, IN, Lakes FCU, located in Monticello, Tippecanoe FCU, located in Lafayette, and, Wayne County FCU located in Richmond, IN.
Westmark CU Selects Symitar's Hosted Core
Symitar announced that $1.02 billion-asset Westmark Credit Union will convert to Symitar in a private cloud environment. The Idaho-based CU said that the hosted model will help support its disaster avoidance, disaster recovery and business continuity efforts.
LAFCU Adds Digital Onboarding Through Partnership with MDT
Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a CUSO that hosts the Episys core processing system from Symitar to provide a private cloud alternative for core processing and IT needs, announced that $942 million-asset LAFCU has successfully launched Digital Onboarding’s engagement platform through its partnership with MDT. Digital Onboarding’s platform helps automate and digitize the new membership and complementary service setup process.
~~~
Western Digital Plots to Squeeze the Tape Market with Massive Archive HDDs
Western Digital could be preparing to take on the tape archive market using HDD technology as the company looks to solve the archive problem. They are looking to add another storage tier that will allow colder data and archive data to co-exist.
~~~
Avast Business Introduces Network Discovery for SMBs
Avast has launched a new, free Network Discovery tool within its Avast Business Hub. Network Discovery is a network discovery tool that aims to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) gain full network visibility. As well as gaining better visibility into the IT network, Network Discovery provides users with the capability to keep track of unauthorized devices accessing the business network.
Zscaler Extends Zero Trust Exchange Platform to Deliver Zero Trust for Workloads
Zscaler announced the general availability of its new Workload Communications solution, part of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, which extends Zero Trust security to workloads and applications hosted in public clouds. Zscaler’s cloud-native platform helps eliminate attack surfaces, prevent lateral threat movement, inhibit compromise of workloads, and stop data loss.
~~~
Can We Build an Unhackable ATM?
Is it possible to build an ATM that cannot be hacked or fall victim to skimming? Researchers based in Canada and Switzerland believe they may have found the answer in zero-knowledge proof cryptology. This article goes on to explain the methods that the two groups propose.
~~~
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:
Missouri Valley Federal 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!
~~~
The Future of Mobile Banking Beyond Smartphones
Where will the next stage of mobility take us? The author posits that smart, augmented reality (AR) glasses will unseat the smartphone as the device of choice for consumers. As big technology companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others race to create a pair of fashionable smart glasses that will be embraced by consumers, how far away are we from the next way to do mobile banking? The author states that it depends on technology advances, which continue to move forward … quickly.
SentinelOne Singularity Mobile Combats Mobile Malware and Phishing Attacks
SentinelOne announced Singularity Mobile, a new AI-powered mobile security solution delivering autonomous threat protection, detection, and response for iOS, Android, and Chrome OS devices. With on-device behavioral AI detecting and protecting against mobile malware, phishing, exploits, and man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks, Singularity Mobile helps provide security and data privacy to support end-to-end zero trust.
~~~
18 Cybersecurity Startups to Watch
Security startups are often innovation leaders that attempt to solve critical and persistent problems. This article highlights some of the most interesting ones to watch as they tackle issues around multicloud security, identity management, zero-trust, and more.
~~~
Optimizing Your Core System
 |
 |
|
CUProdigy - http://www.cuprodigy.com
Read Amber Harsin's comments: https://www.cunews.com/CUProdigy.pdf |
 |
|
Enhanced Software Products - https://www.espsolution.net
Read Matt Lefler's comments: https://www.cunews.com/ESP.pdf |
 |
|
Member Driven Technologies - http://www.mdtmi.com
Read Matt Baaki's comments: https://www.cunews.com/MDT.pdf |
 |
|
Symitar - http://www.symitar.com
Read Shanon McLachlan's comments: https://www.cunews.com/Symitar.pdf |
 |
|
TCS - http://www.tcs.com
Read TCS BaNCS Global Banking Team's comments: https://www.cunews.com/TCS.pdf |
~~~
Technology and Marketing
8 Strategies to Get People to Open and Read Your Emails
The average person receives 126 emails per day. This article provides 8 strategies for crafting effective marketing emails that your audience reads: 1. Craft attention-grabbing subject lines; 2. Tell a story; 3. Be consistent; 4. Thank your audience regularly; 5. Don’t try to sound smart; 6. Share social proof; 7. Engage your audience; and 8. Be an innovator.
~~~
Benchmarking Your Digital Banking Strategy
 |
|
Access Softek - http://www.accesssoftek.com
Read Chris Doner's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/access-softek |
Humanizing Digital: Increasing Account Holder Loyalty and Exceeding CU Goals with Smart, Flexible Solutions
 |
|
Alogent - http://www.alogent.com
Read Jason Schwabline's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/alogent |
Digital Transformation: A Credit Union Imperative
 |
|
Bankjoy - https://www.bankjoy.com
Read Michael Duncan's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/bankjoy |
The Digital Banking Market Is Heating Up
 |
|
CUBUS - http://www.cubussolutions.com
Read John-Ashley Paul's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/cubus |
Three Present-Day Goals to Revolutionize Your FI’s Marketing
 |
|
DeepTarget - http://www.deeptarget.com
Read Preetha Pulusani's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/deeptarget |
eSignatures Are Now a Top Priority Across the Nation
 |
|
IMM/eSign - http://www.immonline.com
Read Michael Ball's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/imm |
Fight Fraud by Better Understanding Your Financial Data
 |
It’s Always About the People: 5 Rules for Digital Banking and Beyond
 |
|
Tyfone - http://www.tyfone.com
Read Dr. Siva Narendra's comments: https://www.digitalbankingleaders.com/tyfone |
Visa Introduces Crypto Advisory Services
Visa announced the launch of Visa’s Global Crypto Advisory Practice, an offering within Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) designed to help clients and partners advance their own crypto journey. The card giant says that through their work with more than 60 crypto platforms, their global network of consultants and product experts have deep expertise to help FIs evaluate the crypto opportunity, develop concrete strategies, and pilot new user experiences and innovations like crypto rewards programs and CBDC-integrated consumer wallets.
Upgrade Turns Credit Card Balances into Installment Loans
Upgrade’s main product is a card that turns purchases into fixed-rate installment loans, making the start-up the latest company to benefit from the “buy now, pay later” trend in fintech. While many traditional cards charge more than 18% in interest annually, the Upgrade card starts at 8%. The company states that their card is "less profitable than a traditional card because the balance comes down faster, but it’s a better deal for consumers.”
~~
Cloudflare Launches Cloud-Native Firewall in Zero Trust Push
Cloudflare announced that it is expanding its Zero Trust firewall capabilities to help organizations secure their entire corporate networks. They claim that it will better secure corporate networks, apply Zero Trust policies to all traffic and gain deeper network visibility. At the same time, since the company's firewall runs everywhere, organizations will no longer need to rely on centralizing traffic on one box in one location whether it be physical or virtual.
Aryaka Debuts Managed SD-WAN, SASE Services
Aryaka Networks announced that they are now offering a new managed secure access service edge (SASE) solution along with an improved, lower cost SD-WAN offering. Aryaka has also added an application-monitoring capability called AppAssure that lets customers manage application profiles and performance.
~~~
Voice ID Improves Member Service at TruWest CU
TruWest's Voice ID combines signal processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning to create an AudioPrint of each member’s voice, coupled with unique characteristics of their usual calling device. This AudioPrint is stored in the cloud without capturing or compromising any personal identifying information. The next time a member calls in, Voice ID runs passively in the background during natural conversation, matching the member’s voice to the AudioPrint on file. An authentication decision is sent to the agent within seconds. This convenient process allows members to experience a friendly welcome on the phone rather than being faced with an interrogation.
Five9 Adds Support for Life-like Synthetic Voices
Five9 announced it is adding a new capability to help organizations reimagine their self-service experiences using life-like conversational AI synthesized from human voices. The new capability, Five9 Virtual Voiceover, will be available to Five9 Inference Studio 7 users at no additional cost. The company claims that Virtual Voiceover significantly reduces the time and expense of producing custom voice overs for static self-service scripts in the contact center.
~~~