Community Credit Union, Plano, Texas, has in conjunction with the city of Plano, awarded the Paul L. Standberry Memorial Scholarship to Starlett Carter and Paymon Bagheri. Scholarship recipients are awarded $500 per semester during their first year of college to assist with expenses. In addition, CCU has raised $25,105.16 for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica program. The total donation was a result of several programs including Tennis Shoes Sale and Blue Jeans for Babies. CCU was named the Top New Team for the fund raising effort and among all teams in the 100-499 employee division,the credit union took first place for its T-shirt design. CCU has $752 million in assets and serves over 145,000 members. Dearborn Federal Credit Union, Mich., has announced that Joseph Tracz of Northville, Jennifer Somand of Bloomfield and Aditi Saxena of Livonia are the recipients of the Founder's Scholarship. Applicants were chosen based on their extra-curricular and community service activities, grade point average and an original essay focusing on the theme "Who in your life has most demonstrated the credit union philosophy of `people helping people'." Tracz and Somand have been awarded $1,500 that is renewable up to four years based on continued academic achievement. Sazena has received a one-time $500 scholarship. California Credit Union League, CUNA Mutual Group and the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation, an educational and philanthropic organization, have awarded $38,700 in scholarships to help credit union professionals attend Western CUNA Management School. The awards will help 44 credit union professionals from 10 western states attend the intensive training program for credit union executives, managers and supervisors. Foundation scholarships vary in size based in part on students' need, educational level and the sized of their credit union. Western Division Credit Union, Williamsville, N.Y., has awarded six $500 scholarships to high school seniors. Applicants were judged on academic performance, extracurricular activities, community service, leadership positions, honors and awards. The scholarship winners are Alicia Sim, Frontier Central; Kathryn Crocker, LaSalle Senior High School; Benjamin Ahlstrom, Dunkirk Senior High School; Sean Dixon, City Honors; Amanda Alessi, Immaculata Academy; and Nicole Barone, Kenmore West High School....

Citizens Equity Federal Credit Union, Peoria, Ill., has raised $16,000 during the "Partners in Peace" luncheon for the Center for Prevention of Abuse. The event recognizes individuals in Central Illinois who have furthered the Center's mission of eliminating interpersonal abuse and violence in the community. Rebecca Lobo of the WNBA's New York Liberty team was the keynote speaker. Parishioners Federal Credit Union, Torrance, Calif., has raised $14,234 through its credit card program. The donation check will be returned in income to Parishioners FCU sponsor parishes. The 1999 donation is a 19% increase compared to 1998. PFCU has $30 million in assets and serves 6,451 members. Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, Lowell, Mass., has raised $30,000 for the March of Dimes. Over the course of the year JDCU staff and members contributed by purchasing paper sneakers, chocolates, adopting "Healthy Baby" bears and participating in WalkAmerica. Since 1939 the mission of the March of Dimes has been to improve the health of babies by preventing infant mortality and birth defects. JDCU has $360.6 million in assets and serves 28,546 members. St. Mary's Bank, Manchester, N.H., has donated $500 to Manchester Neighborhood Housing in support of Neighborfest. Neighborfest, which began three years ago as a small block party by residents, celebrates pride in the revitalization of the neighborhood. St. Mary's Bank has $339.6 million in assets and serves 42,740 members. Oakland County Chapter of Michigan Credit Unions , has donated $3,000 to the Habitat for Humanity of North Oakland. The donation will be used to purchase a piece of property in the city of Pontiac. Sunmark Federal Credit Union, New York, has raised $1,045 for WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes' annual fund-raiser. Proceeds are used to support lifesaving research and community programs that help prevent birth defects, low birthweight and infant deaths. Sunmark FCU has $135.7 million in assets and serves 28,328 members. Weyerhaeuser Employees Credit Union, Longview, Wash., and Cowlitz Public Employees' Credit Union have teamed up to donate their time to give "Financial Fitness" classes to local area high school seniors. The classes will provide basic knowledge about credit cards, checking accounts, and student loans. In addition, WECU has awarded $1,500 in scholarships to ten students....

PORTLAND, Ore. - Concentrex's latest version of its Host Processing Engine includes several new features that revolve around credit card processing. Version 15.0, unveiled at a Concentrex users meeting in Incline Village, Nevada, includes an Advanced Credit Card module that allows CUs to offer promotional card programs, tiered rates, flexible billing formats, promotional checks, online management of credit card charge backs, and customized statement processing that can brand credit card statements with the CU's logo. Concentrex said the new version revolves around making back-end credit card processing easier for credit unions to manage. "Using the module lets us format our credit card statements anyway we want, instead of being locked into preset formats. And having the charge back process more automated is saving us time in our back room operations," said Terri Austin, automated services manager of Credit Union 1 in Anchorage. Concentrex CEO Matt Chapman said version 15.1 currently in beta will include more bill pay and presentment functionality and data warehouse and analysis tools to help CUs use member information for marketing efforts. Concentrex has also announced a deal with MasterCard to gain access to MasterCard's Remote Payment and Presentment Service (RPPS). MasterCard will offer Concentrex's online banking customers the ability to present bills to its members through MasterCard's RPPS network. MasterCard's RPPS program will also allow Concentrex clients the ability to process transactions without capturing or storing consumer or biller relationship information. Concentrex acquired credit union data processor ULTRADATA in 1999. Its host services division is run out of ULTRADATA's former Pleasanoton, California headquarters. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

Phantom provision would have given NCUA authority to define emergency...........Page 5...

DUBLIN, Ohio - More than 100 credit union representatives met at the State Capitol May 23-24 to strengthen Ohio credit unions' advocacy efforts. Among the list of state legislators who met with the CU supporters were Sen. Rhine McLin (D-5). A member of the state Senate Ways & Means Committee, McLin was elected the new Senate Minority Leader on the second day of the conference. State Rep. Chris Verich (D-66) also met with credit union officials from his district. - ekingoff@cutimes.com...

PLANTATION, Fla. - Fiserv UniFi Products Group Inc., has launched BrokerLink. According to the company BrokerLink serves as a connection between lenders and their broker and correspondent network. With BrokerLink lenders can streamline the origination process. They can deliver price and product information to their brokers instantaneously via the Web, eliminating software and platform compatibility issues. In addition, loans registered on the BrokerLink system are transferred automatically to the lender's Fiserv UniFi PRO Mortgage origination system, eliminating the need for the lender to re-key the loan application for processing, underwriting, etc. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

WORLD WIDE WEB - The old Masterlock commercials of a man shooting a bullet through the lock-but it still holds-is a concept credit unions need to embrace for their growing Web presence. "Every time you add another service that other people can get access to, you're opening yourself up to everybody. Just because you have a screen with a password, that's not enough. That screen is available to everybody and people can find the keys to it," said Joe Cooper of IT security firm Digital Defense, San Antonio. Cooper said each new Web service a credit union adds poses a new risk, and those risks can be limited, but the credit union needs to look at how each additional service affects the whole of its IT security. He said one of the problems with the new plug-and-play mode of today's open systems is that software vendors are trying to make it as easy as possible for credit unions to plug in their software. But that convenience comes at a price, said Cooper. "Convenience is inversely proportional to security. The more convenient it is, the less secure it likely is. Vendors want to make it easy to set their software up. Microsoft is a great example," said Cooper. He said the default settings for a new server or new piece of software aren't secure right out of the box. Credit unions have to configure certain items to take away easy hacker targets. Cooper said credit unions should never feel that they shouldn't launch a new Web service because of security fears. "Ninety-five percent of the problem the credit union's IS staff can probably fix," said Cooper. But what about the other 5%? "Twelve-year olds are coming out with new hacks everyday. There's no way IS staffs can keep up with all that," he said. Cooper said just like credit unions should be on a regular virus updating program, they should also periodically have their remote systems checked by a security firm such as Digital Defense. IT security experts essentially try and hack the credit union. They then give the CU a report and make security recommendations. Cooper said some credit unions are under the misconception that remote security checks are costly, but in many cases they can be done for under $5,000. But most IS security problems don't even involve the Web. "Seventy-percent of problems are from the internal side. Tellers not understanding the importance of logging off their machines. Credit unions find it easier to just give everyone access to all systems, instead of segmenting authorization to make systems more secure." "I've seen office supply policies tougher than network security policies at some credit unions." Pete Hammes, director of engineering for IT security firm Para-Protect, Washington, said bad public relations should drive credit unions to make their Web sites as secure as possible. "All it takes is one headline in the local paper that a site was broken into, and trust can be lost. I think credit unions' main concern should not be Web site defacement of someone putting up some bad words or dirty pictures, but protecting the back-end systems from being compromised," said Hammes. Hammes said the CU's front-end systems may be ultra secure, but they leave the back-end systems open. "You're only as strong as your weakest link. Using SSL encryption on the front end is great, but the back-end database needs to be secure. Records being sent back and forth in clear text e-mail are available to anyone capturing data (sniffing)," said Hammes. Hammes said credit unions would be surprised how many times their sites are probed by some level of hacker. "Site probing and scanning goes on on a daily basis from all over the world." He said he has a firewall on his site and is alerted every time his site is probed-and it happens daily. Credit unions can weed out most of the hackers by engaging in well-known IT security measures. That doesn't mean the security is impenetrable, but he said if most hackers see too many locked doors they'd rather surf over to an easier target. "There are basic things credit unions can do to take away 75% of the easy hacking techniques. Then the hackers just rattle your doors and go down the street to someone else." -pgentile@cutimes.com...

PEWAUKEE, Wis. - The CU Ca$h ATM Alliance, a no surcharge ATM network for credit unions in the state, plans to merge into Alliance One, a Midwest selective surcharge group that includes about 100 ATMs across the state. The league said the merger will increase the number of surcharge free ATMs available to credit unions in the alliance. The Wisconsin Credit Union League will remain the contact point and coordinator for Wisconsin credit unions. Alliance One has 713 participating financial institutions, representing 749 ATMs in 25 states and Germany....

GLENDALE, Calif. - CUShopper has hired a former Fortune 500 CEO to lead the credit union member shopping network. CUShopper has named Glen Raiger as its new CEO, taking over the reins from Adam Wicks Walker who will remain as chairman of the board. "This is quite common for guys who start companies. I'm going to go back to doing the things that I'm really, really good at and that's strategy," said Walker. Walker said as CEO he was heavily involved in the daily communications and operations, but now he will spend more time on the "vision" of CUShopper. Paul Fiore, founder of Digital Insight, made a similar move last year, giving up the CEO title to focus in on DI's strategic plans. In comes Raiger who has over 20 years of experience in executive positions with Fortune 500 companies, including for the Coldwell Banker/Koll Company, Granite Investments, PurOptix and a biotech firm. Raiger comes to CUShopper with significant merger and acquisition experience. "There are many facets of CUShopper that I find compelling and I look forward to building upon," said Raiger. "I don't think there has been a concentrated focus on developing businesses that extend the credit union's reach to the member. I plan to leverage our position and take CUShopper to the next level of value for members and our credit union partners." CUShopper has also laid off approximately 20 of its regional sales professionals, as well as employees in other operational areas of the company. Walker said these were strategic layoffs that the company did in response to client feedback from a CUShopper survey. "We have been doing a performance assessment. When you go from 13 to 200 employees in a year, there's going to be places you find efficiencies and have to cut positions," said Walker. Walker said reasons for the layoffs include credit unions telling him that they didn't want frequent on-site visits from CUShopper field staff; they want to administer the CUShopper component using Web functionality; and want to deal with fewer people overall at CUShopper. "We used to have one person that enrolls the credit union, another that kicks off the marketing campaign, another that sets up the Web site, and another that makes office visits. What we got back from credit unions was very rarely do they want or need an office visit. So we eliminated that overlapping between our field and internal sales people," said Walker. He said the company has more than adequate funding, and while it did cut employees in its field sales staff and middle management layer, it added about 15 employees in other areas. One of the more notable additions was the hiring of Sandra Choi as vice president eCommerce. Prior to joining CUShopper, Choi was the director of Electronic Commerce for E! Entertainment where she launched and managed E! Entertainment's online store Shop.eonline.com. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

California Credit Union League, Hawaii Credit Union League jointly host Pacific Sun Educational Conference..........Page 28...

ALBANY, N.Y. - CU24, a credit union-owned and operated ATM network affiliate of the New York State Credit Union League, has launched an initiative to provide members of credit unions that belong to the CU24 network with surcharge-free access to ATMs owned by the credit unions. Credit unions in New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island will be able to participate in the program. The initiative affects nearly 1.5 million credit union members. Dan Gonzalez, CU24 sales director explained that the network has been approached by many credit unions he said are finding it necessary to surcharge on their terminals, but still feel strongly that in the cooperative environment in which credit unions operate, other credit unions' members should not be surcharged."This program meets that need," Gonzalez said. Credit unions will be able to ask CU24 to make a simple programming change, so that members of CU24-participating credit unions will automatically be able to make surcharge-free transactions. Participating ATMs will display a "CU24 - No Surcharge ATM" sign, and credit unions will pay no monthly charges or additional transaction fees to be part of the program. Terminal owners will continue to receive the full interchange income for transactions....

HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. - The Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey has commended New Jersey Representative Marge Roukema's (R) initiative in opposing predatory lending and urged that action against predatory lenders be extended to include other businesses "that may be preying on consumers." The chairwoman of the House SubCommittee on Financial Institutions recently asked financial regulators to examine predatory lending and review measures being used to rein in the practice. "Predatory lending negatively impacts many Americans, including a large number of minorities, low income earners and the elderly," wrote CUANJ President/CEO Russell Clark. CUANJ and its affiliate credit unions want to see the damaging practice completely stopped, he said. In his letter, Clark addressed how predatory lenders encourage borrowers to default on loans when refinancing and fail to disclose the risks involved with the loans. Such lenders, said Clark, often charge excessive rates and fees, while ignoring the borrower's ability to repay the loan. The recommended review should "go beyond what may be predatory practices in the areas of mortgage and other traditional loans to examine predatory practices of check cashers and other fringe financial institutions that may be preying on consumers," Clark wrote....

PALO ALTO, Calif. - According to Warren Marshall, CEO of Stanford FCU's CyberBranch, an Internet solutions CUSO, the CUSO will bring on new investors over the coming months. In a report in the San Francisco Business Times, Marshall said the CUSO has been visiting with venture capitalists for the past 45 days. He said CyberBranch will do $3 million in sales this year and that will climb to $14 million next year. Marshall said the credit union's ownership stake in the CUSO could be reduced as investors join in. Marshall had previously told Credit Union Times that there are no plans to convert CyberBranch from its CUSO structure, nor to go public. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

INDIANAPOLIS - Internet solutions provider VIFI here is now offering credit unions an Internet brokerage component that can be 100% branded by credit unions. Some credit unions are so eager to keep up with offering new Web services that they sign making marketing agreements and co-branding deals to offer everything from ISP to online stock trading. Some credit unions have simply placed hyperlinks on their Web site to a provider of some service they don't yet offer. But that strategy can be dangerous said Peter Barnard, vice president of business development for VIFI. "What we've seen in the marketplace are opportunities to partner with an online brokerage firm. There are opportunities for co-branded hyper links. But we're not interested in promoting their (the online brokerage's) brand. We want to protect the brand image of the credit union," said Barnard. Credit unions that link their members to a discount brokerage firm, like a TD Waterhouse for example, may get more than they bargained for, said Barnard. "A lot of those firms offer good rates on money market and savings accounts, so credit unions might start to hear that sucking sound," he said. "We were in conversations with one of the major online trading houses and found that a big part of their business is made on the spread of their deposit accounts. They pay 3 to 5% on their money market accounts, and try to make money on that spread." For the last year VIFI has been looking for a national brokerage firm that could act as the credit union's "quiet partner." That search wasn't easy, said Barnard, but VIFI found that firm in Unified Management Corporation. The result is a fully brandable credit union Internet brokerage component known as InternetBroker. The VIFI solution will be integrated into its online banking solution. Barnard said credit unions won't be in danger of losing members to a Unified deposit account. "Contractually they are prohibited from offering high interest rates on the deposit accounts on the brokerage side," said Barnard. Members who want to trade with InternetBroker can use ACH to take money out of their credit union account and deposit it into an InternetBroker trading account. Members can be trading 24 hours after initializing the ACH transfer. Barnard said as members make money on trades or begin to develop high balances in the brokerage account, it's likely that member will ACH that money back to their credit union account in order to get out of the low-interest Unified account, and into a higher interest CU account. The product won't be available until the third or fourth quarter of 2000. VIFI has set it up so the member has a single log-in via the Net banking system, and then has access to the brokerage account. "Members can then interact with investment accounts and core credit union accounts," said Barnard, who said that is in line with the total financial account aggregation concept. Barnard said there will be a revenue sharing opportunity for credit unions. He expects $3 from every member trade to go back to the credit union. It will cost members anywhere from $9.95 to $14.95 to make a trade. There is an up-front fee for a CU to launch the product and a per-member, per-month user fee. Online brokerage use won't just be for high earners in the future, according to Internet research firm Jupiter Communications. Jupiter projects that by 2003 there will be roughly 20 million online trading households in the U.S. Of those households, 26% are expected to make between $30-$50,000 and 31% to make $75,000. However, members that do trade online could turn out to be some of the credit union's higher-income earners. Jupiter stats indicated that most new online traders have investment portfolios valued over $100,000 and the average portfolio for all online traders is $157,000. City and County Credit Union, St. Paul, Minn., will be one of the first credit unions to beta the product. The CU's vice president of IT, Marc Kilgore, said integration was key to choosing the VIFI broker solution. "We first went with VIFI for Internet banking because back then they were one of the only vendors that could do an interface with our Summit core system. We'll have that real-time interface for the brokerage component." From a tech standpoint, Kilgore said online brokerage doesn't pose many problems. "It's just another data source. It's all data. Legally there's a lot to do with brokerage, but the technology isn't too difficult," he said. The CU has 604 members on its Net banking system. Currently the CU charges $1 for members to use Net banking and another $1 to do bill payment. Kilgore said once the brokerage component is rolled out, the CU will likely drop all Net banking fees. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

CALABASAS, Calif. -Internet solutions provider Digital Insight has entered into an agreement with Aurum Technology to become one of Aurum's preferred providers of Internet-based financial services. "Digital Insight develops far more than plain vanilla Internet banking," said Ray Maturi, president/CEO of Aurum Technology. Digital Insight has expanded its product line from just Web development and Net banking. It also offers the AXIS eCommerce Portal, AXIS Online Lending, and AXIS Advanced Target Marketing Systems Aurum serves approximately 500 mid-sized banks....

DALLAS - Dallas Teachers CU's Chief Information Officer Jerry Thompson sounds more like a U.S. general planning a high-tech missile attack on a rogue nation rather than a credit union executive planning a marketing strategy. Dallas Teachers recently received approval for a community charter that allows it to target some 2.2 million consumers in a five-county area in and around Dallas. To help win approval from the Texas Credit Union Department, the CU used business intelligence and spatial mapping software to show regulators just how it planned to serve the 2.2 million potential members. "We did data analysis of transportation data, our transaction data and other pieces of data to do distance/time studies. How many miles does that member live from their brick and mortar branch? Is it five minutes away, eight minutes, twelve minutes?" asked Thompson. Knowing the time/distance between members and branches is vital for Dallas Teachers because its analysis of its transaction data found that the CU has very good checking account penetration for members that live eight to ten minutes away from a branch. But anything beyond ten minutes and penetration drops off dramatically. Thompson said in order to get an accurate look at how far away (in minutes) a member is from a branch, you can't just look at a map and judge the time/distance by the physical distances. "People who live on the major arteries get to branches quicker. Some members who live 8 or 9 miles away get to a branch faster than members 3 or 4 miles away because of the roads," said Thompson. So when using a spatial mapping program, most credit unions won't be able to draw a perfectly formed circle around their branch to show where their members using that branch live. "You get very odd geometric overlays doing it this way. We had some oblong parallelograms based on where members lived in relation to their primary branch," said Thompson. The CU used this type of planning to show regulators where it planned on building branches in the next couple of years to provide adequate branch access for members in its new five-county community FOM. Thompson said the spatial software is ideal for presenting expansion plans to the CU's board of directors. The board wants to see visually where people live in relation to the CU's branches, he said. The credit union recently used spatial mapping of traffic poll information to alleviate an overflow situation at one of its branches. The older branch was having trouble handling the everyday member flow. "We wanted to know how much attrition or cross over there would be between the new and old branch. Doing the analysis on the new location we found that if we built that new branch within a 4 to 5 mile radius from the existing one we would have between 22 to 25% attrition, which is in the range we wanted." Thompson said the new branch went up in November and the attrition rate is about 24%-dead on based on the mapping software. The credit union is now using spatial mapping to find out where potential profitable members live. Looking at its own data warehouse and doing a study of what its top 10% of profitable members look like, the credit union compares that with public record data and data from third-parties to find where potential profitable members live. "We mapped these out, and what we found were clusters here and there of profitable consumers. That is they fit the profile of our top 10%." Like a military operation attacking a vulnerable point of an enemy, the credit union looks at those clusters as its main marketing targets. Now that the credit union has the locations of the clusters it can take its traffic time/distance analysis to determine the most optimal places to build a new branch to serve as many consumers in the profitable cluster as possible. Dallas Teachers uses an IBM DB2 Universal Database, IBM DB2 Intelligent Miner, IBM Visual Warehouse and Business Objects OLAP to compile its data on members and potential members. The CU's core processing system is powered by Concentrex. The credit union is even using a technology that monitors what radio stations cars driving in a particular location are tuned to and at what times. The credit union is planning on placing radio advertisements on the most popular stations at peak drive times. While it sounds Big Brother-ish, Thompson said the radio capability does not look at who the person in the car is or even gather any information about the car. Thompson said these marketing efforts may seem a bit extreme for a credit union, but competition in Dallas is so tough, it must be done to survive. "All the big banks are here. There's a bank on every corner in Dallas. If you don't do these types of things, you're in trouble," said Thompson. High-tech tools like spatial mapping software aren't of much use to a credit union if it hasn't done extensive data analysis. Data is king today and everyone is trying to find out how to get to it and what to do with it. Credit unions have all sorts of data in their core processing system, but constantly pulling transaction data from the core system can slow that system down said Matt Chapman, CEO of Concentrex. That's problematic because speed is essential for today's debit, credit and Web transactions. "You don't want to slow down the transaction engine with these overall inquiries. We've created a sort of atomic layer, where you're consistently using it to dump information from a transaction engine into a data warehouse. The difference is we do this on a very regular basis, as opposed to older systems where it's every 30 days." Concentrex uses data libraries form Sagent and data tool sets from Cognos to help credit unions understand and utilize data for more specific marketing. "They can geocode data so we know this member was here or there at time of transaction. You want to be able to tie in all the characteristics of a member for marketing campaigns. For example, query for all the members over 50 that use certain products and live in a particular area," said Chapman, In order to do really high-tech marketing credit unions need to look at public data too, said Chapman. "As credit unions go into high-tech marketing, they'll be surprised how stunningly accurate it can be. They already have the transaction data. Using an address they can get information about the neighborhoods their members live in looking at public information. The complexities of the models are extreme. We're talking about areas of genuine artificial intelligence." Looking at different aspects of a member's life brings up the privacy debate, said Chapman. Credit unions are uniquely positioned to benefit from the privacy debate-more so than banks-he said. "People are afraid of all this information out there. Credit unions should market privacy to members and say `hey we're not interested in selling your data to third-parties.' They should give members that opt-out ability if they don't want the credit union making product recommendations that may ultimately benefit them." Chapman said consumer choice needs to come first. "When I tap into Amazon.com they make recommendations based on my buying patterns. I like that. It freaks other people out, but those people can opt out." Marc Roberson, senior vice president for credit union data processor FiTech Systems, Atlanta, said finding profitable members is one of the most important tech/business issues for credit unions today. And fortunately, the tools to do it are dropping in price. "It's much cheaper. The disk storage is a fraction of what it used to be. The speed is considerably better. The tools to mine that data are so easy to use. They can be Windows-based drop and drag. It's also much more accessible to the end user to know what he or she wants. Today's tools don't require and MIS degree," said Roberson. Roberson said FiTech is giving CUs reporting tools that allow the CU to extract data from not only their member data base transactions, but all of their loan databases, data from the credit bureau, demographic data, and place it in an MCIF to use in member profiles and one-to-one marketing campaigns. "I think one of the most interesting angles coming out of all of this is the final realization that sales versus service is really going away. Poorly done selling, wasting members time, is bad service. A telemarketer calling at 5:45 when the family is sitting down for dinner is not a welcome event. But appropriately using database technology to understand precisely what your members need and when they need it is welcomed," said Scott Hansen, vice president of software for MCIF and database software provider Harland. Harland is set to unveil Channel Expert later this year which will look at MCIF data and use it to push a marketing message out to members via different CU channels. "It's a piece of technology between the MCIF system and the channels. We might send a member on the Web a gif for a home equity line of credit if they fit that profile. If the member clicks on that gif and says `yes I'm interested' we store that in the MCIF so they don't get the same HELOC message next time. That's where technology comes in. Targeted marketing that doesn't annoy members," said Hansen. But, of course, said Hansen the data is where it all starts. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

INDIANAPOLIS - Core data processing has evolved over the last 20 years in a number of ways, but as an industry, credit union data processing has gone back in time in one respect. Twenty years ago there were only a handful of independent credit union data processors. Back then CUNA and a handful of large banking processors, including large banks themselves, handled the bulk of the credit union industry's data processing needs. After a plethora of new credit union data processors emerged in the `80s and `90s-Symitar Systems, ULTRADATA, and C.U. Processing to name a few-the industry became more segmented and more competitive. But consolidation has ruled the day for the last five years as processors began gobbling each other up. "I think the basis is multi-faceted. It's the nature of the industry. The big corporations need to continue to grow. By far one of the easiest ways to do that is by acquisition," said Dave Becker, CEO of re:Member Data Services, one of the few remaining independent processors exclusively serving credit unions. Becker, who founded re:Member Data in 1981 at the age of 27 after working as a senior consultant for the Indiana Credit Union League, said he started re:Member Data to give credit unions a choice. "Back then, as most leagues had in those days, we had an endorsed vendor. They were a banking processor. We were fighting data processing issues day in and day out," said Becker. Becker took one computer class at Depauw University in 1981. He admits he couldn't write a line of code if his life depended on it back then or today, but he said he understood the industry and the need for more credit union processors. "I guess in the near term I don't think that consolidation is necessarily bad right now. It gives smaller firms additional resources and tools. But over time there will be some bad feedback. When you're a Fiserv and have six different credit union products, ultimately one has to survive. You can't support all of them. There will be consolidation." There are advantages to being an independent processor, said Becker. "The greatest single advantage we have is reacting to the marketplace. We can make business decisions fast. We don't have to go to committee and look at our budget 18 months down the line. A few calls to some vice presidents and we're ready to act." Becker said another reason for the mergers is that executives start getting further along in years professionally and selling their company becomes a more realistic exit strategy. At only 47, he said he is having the time of his life and has no plans of entering the CU data processing merger mania, though he said he gets a call every 90 days or so from a company interested in re:Member Data. As for other trends, Becker said the service bureau model is starting to become more popular. "We saw nine or 10 of our clients move back to the service bureau concept. It provides more flexibility. Credit unions have enough to worry about building their business, they like having the service bureau worry about changes in technology." He also said IT staffing shortages support the service bureau model because it doesn't require the CU going out and hiring skilled IT professionals to run their in-house system. Improvements in telecommunications are also on the side of the service bureau. "More data can be pushed out today using TCPIP. It used to be a large query of say 200 MB on a 9600 baud line could bring the system to a screeching halt. Now there's no impact when moving large chunks of data," said Becker. The new openness of the industry was unheard of back in the early `80s, said Becker. "I think the biggest change over the last 20 years is a change to open standards. The old proprietary services and the idea you buy it all here, or don't buy it all is gone. It's much easier to buy a product for a specific service-mortgage origination-Net banking and tie it back to the core processing system." Becker knows a thing or two about being a third-party trying to sell a product that ties into a CU's core DP system. He is also the founder and chairman and CEO of Internet solutions provider VIFI. VIFI provides a suite of financial-related Internet solutions. The company currently has approximately 100 credit union clients. Looking ahead, Becker said credit unions better stay abreast of competitors that are not traditional in terms of the competitors they're used to. "They've always gone head-to-head with financials down the street. Now credit unions have to worry about America Online. There's a whole new breed of competitors that is looking at aggregation through portals to get customers." -pgentile@cutimes.com...

HOUSTON - Credit unions need more than a great portal page to spur members to utilize it, said Marc Lafitte, CEO of portal provider total1.com here. "A lot of people are putting portals out there. The problem is you can't get members there initially," said Lafitte. With a recent study showing that approximately 75% of Net surfers have not changed their home page since joining the Net world, it's a bit of a challenge for credit unions to get veteran Net surfer/members to use the credit union's new portal as their home page, said Lafitte. Many Web surfers started out with Yahoo! as their default home page and haven't looked back, said Lafitte. Members have to be led to their CU's portal page, he said. To help credit unions do that, total1.com has partnered with freeinternet.com to offer credit unions fully branded Internet service at no cost to the credit union or its members. He said the idea is to use that ISP relationship, which is the backbone of the surfer's Web experience, as a tool to drive members to the CU's portal page. The way it works is total1.com will provide the credit union with marketing materials touting the free Net access. Interested members will receive a CD with the freeinternet.com install software. The CD will be packaged as if the CU is the ISP. "Instead of a member getting a CD from an America Online, it will be coming from their credit union," he said. "We're going to use this as a push marketing technique, and try and lead members to the credit union's portal page." Lafitte echoed a common answer many give when explaining why credit unions can become a Web presence, even for ISP, with their members-trust. "Credit unions have a certain trust level with their members. Their members trust them to be consumer advocates. There's so much fear associated with the Net, credit unions can extend that trust into areas members have fears." When members install the software they'll see a sign-in screen. Once they sign in and dial into the local POP server, they will automatically be taken to the CU's portal page. Lafitte said the freeinternet.com install software can be encapsulated into a credit union Web marketing piece, promoting the CU's Net services, as well as other services. The CD can even include loan forms that can be printed by members. ISP service is being talked about more and more in the industry as a way to market to members via their e-mail addresses. Lafitte said, however, that not all credit unions want their CU's name in some way incorporated in their members' e-mail addresses. "Some have said they don't want members sending e-mails that look like they are coming from employees because of the address," said Lafitte. CUNA's eCommerce unit is also pushing an ISP service, though it's not free. Earlier this year Pennsylvania State Employees CU, Harrisburg, became one of the first CUs in the nation to offer members free ISP. The CU even ran radio ads touting the service. At press time, the CU said it had 5,022 members actually use the ISP service, with about 3,000 of them being regular users. total1.com shares 50% of the portal revenue with its CU clients. The company has over 750 relationships with vendors to offer members online shopping. "We are working on developing the e-wallet concept. If anyone says they'll be doing that in less than 4 to six months, they're e not. The standards aren't' there yet-those standards are coming." Lafitte said the credit union portal arena has become increasingly competitive, so providers have to have unique differentiators. "I think everyone is going to have their own angle. Some will be much more financial oriented. We are a lot more lifestyle-oriented (with content)," he said. total1.com uses off the shelf technology solutions as the backbone of its product, allowing it to keep costs down and constantly update the portal, said Lafitte. Freeinternet.com, Seattle, has 2.2 million registered users, making it the sixth largest ISP in the nation. It is available in some 1,500 cities in the U.S. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Credit unions are driving hard to the Web offering everything from portals to online lending, but what are their community bank competitors up to? According to a recent survey by Bankers Systems, privacy is the name of the game for community banks right now. The study of 1,400 professionals in the industry found that 46% of them are working on privacy policies. Another 8% said their policies are almost complete. Public relations benefits seems to be the reason for the privacy policy push. Respondents said they want to get their policies out as soon as possible for marketing purposes. Some 52% said they expect to implement their policies this year, with another 31% looking at the first quarter of 2000. Only 17% said they would make it by July 1 of this year. Forty-six percent of respondents said they know that their customers are "moderately" concerned about privacy, with 21% saying it's a major concern. Interestingly, as far as the difficulties in launching a privacy policy, 35% said creating it is the toughest thing to do; 27% said providing the notices to consumers would be the most difficult aspect; while 38% said training staff to abide by the policy would be the biggest challenge. The study was conducted by Bankers Systems, St. Cloud, Minn....

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The California League Services Corp., an affiliate of the California Credit Union League has entered into an agreement with CUNA Strategic Services Inc. to market their eCommerce program to credit unions in California and Nevada. Under the agreement, CLSC will promote CUNA's Web Hosting Services, CU Internet Service Program, Virtual Private Network, and Internet Banking. CCUL has already begun marketing the CUNA solution with its business services department. Brett Martinez, league senior vice president of marketing and communications said the program's online access services will provide credit unions with secure Web hosting services, reliable affordable Internet access for credit unions to offer their members, advanced online network security using the Virtual Private Network, and Internet banking. "All of these services enhance a credit union's identity with its members," he remarked....

SEATTLE - At press time, CUNA Mutual's Discovery conference was set to open in Seattle. The conference is slated to run from June 14-17. This year's Discovery conference is sold out with 793 people expected to attend. According to a CUNA Mutual spokesperson that's a 75% increase over last year's 460-person attendance held in New Orleans, making it the largest Discovery conference to date. The spokesperson said 32 of the top 100 credit unions (by assets) will be represented, and 54 of the top 200. Sixty workshops and panel discussions aimed at CEOs and finance, human resources, lending and operations executive, will be held. CUNA Mutual CEO Mike Kitchen will open the conference, followed by motivational speaker Ivory Dorsey....

MADISON, Wis. - Latin America's economic growth rates have improved markedly from the 1980's stagnation period, but even so as many as 200 million people are estimated to still live in poverty there. That makes credit unions' microcredit services all the more important. CUs are providing an astounding 80% of all microcredit in Latin America, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). In "Safe Money," a book recently published by IDB and WOCCU, figures show that credit unions in Latin America provide financial services to small business and low-income households which typically lack fair and safe financial alternatives. In addition, editors Brian Branch, technical services director, WOCCU, and Glenn Westley, IDB senior advisor of microenterprise explain how Latin American credit union performance has improved through aggressive mobilization of savings, stricter attention to controlling loan delinquency and a policy of capitalizing profits. "Being community based, credit unions have a particular advantage in Latin American markets, "said Branch. "financially serving many groups in the lower end of the economic spectrum - enabling members to increase income and wealth with access to microfinance savings and loan programs and providing nearly US$2billion in credit to microenterprises....

PASADENA, Calif. - Darin Woinarowicz has been named president of Wescom Financial Services (WFS), the CUSO of Wescom Credit Union. Previously vice president of WFS, Woinarowicz has 10 years experience working in the financial services industry. He joined Wescom in 1998 as Business Development Manager. Prior to joining Wescom, he was product manager of the investment and insurance division at Coast Federal Bank. Founded in 1934 as the Telephone Employees CU, Wescom CU's field-of-membership now includes Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The credit union has approximately 180,000 members, over $1.5 billion in assets, and 19 branches throughout Southern California....

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Columbia Credit Union has been recognized as a Best Company to Work for in the Not-For-Profit Organization category of a recent survey conducted by Washington CEO Magazine. The survey, compiled by Watson Wyatt World Wide and ranked by a five-member panel of judges, was the ninth consecutive survey of its kind by the magazine. In the telephone survey, Columbia Credit Union employees answered 33 questions covering nine categories. Columbia CU's Vice President of Human Resources Dee Anne Cloke attributed the credit union's friendly corporate culture to its success. "We don't have great self-made titles like `Cat Herder' and `Punisher of Machines' like other recognized companies, but we definitely encourage a sense of humor. However, what Columbia does have in common with all the winning companies, is a management team that makes our employees feel respected and heard." Columbia Credit Union serves just under 52,000 members and has more than $356 million in assets. It includes in its field-of-membership individuals and businesses in Clark County, Wash....

MADISON, Wis. - Neil Springer, CUNA Mutual Group Board chairman used the company's board meeting June 9 to present the National Credit Union Foundation with a check for $100,000. The check will be used by NCUF to further its goal of "improving the financial well-being of people everywhere." In recognition of CUNA Mutual's long time support of the foundation, NCUF Vice Chairman John Fiore presented CUNA Mutual President/CEO Mike Kitchen with a plaque to thank the company for its continued support. CUNA Mutual has donated more than $4 million of the $12 million total grant contributions the NCUF has received since it was founded 20 years ago. NCUF is the U.S. credit union movement's primary charitable and fundraising organization for worldwide credit union development....

MADISON, Wis. - The Credit Union Executive Society, an independent membership association for credit union executives and CUNA Mutual Group, a financial services provider, have joined forces to distribute free copies of "2005: Scenarios for Credit Unions-An Executive Report" to nearly 12,000 credit unions. "This product served as an important springboard for new strategic dialogue for many credit unions," said CUES' board Chairman William J. Rissel,. "As the future evolves, we're delving deeper into the scenarios that seem increasingly relevant. This report is the starting point-it will give all credit unions a more universal look at the process of scenario planning and the key issues that are leading change in the credit union movement." Developed by CUES and Decision Strategies International, Inc., a strategic planning company, "2005: Scenarios for Credit Unions" investigates four different potential scenarios for the credit union movement based on research data from more than 200 credit unions. Each scenario, supported with numerous charts and graphs, offers new insights and discussion points. For more information or if your credit union has not yet received its report, call CUES at (800) 252-2664, ext. 3400, or visit the CUES Web site at www.cues.org....

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Some credit union analysts warn about the dangers of Internet mammoths like Yahoo! and AOL, saying at any moment these players can use their scale to gobble up credit union members. But the $1.2 billion Ent FCU here is embracing one of these powerhouses to reach more of its members and potential members. Ent FCU here has announced a partnership with America Online's Digital City. Ent FCU is using Digital City to try and reach consumers in El Paso and Teller counties. Digital City now has a "Your Town" feature that is designed to expand AOL's local Web presence. Each Digital City "Your Town" provides local information from businesses, news outlets, and other local providers. Ent FCU will be listed as a local partner in the banking and money guide section of Your Town Colorado Springs. Ent FCU is one of the first local players to team up with Digital City in Colorado Springs. One immediate benefit is that members can use AOL's popular keyword function to get instantly transferred to Ent on the Colorado Springs Your Town page. AOL users simply use AOL Keyword "Ent FCU" and they'll be linked to Ent. "Our members are requesting expanded online access. Digital City's commanding presence in our marketplace makes this partnership a natural for a community-oriented credit union like Ent Federal," said Randy Bernstein, Ent FCU's senior vice president for sales and service. Ent has $1.2 billion in assets and serves 126,000 embers....

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. - The CD-ROM continues to blossom as a marketing, member communication tool for credit unions. Caltech Employees FCU marked its 50th Anniversary this year with a CD-ROM-based annual report and video clips of the CU's 50-year history. The CD takes members through a historical journey of the credit union, including the credit union's move from trailers to its modern facilities. It explains the CU's origins and its initial employee group sponsors; the role of the board of directors; and has a segment on the CU's services. The other aspect of the CD is the annual report, which includes audio clips from leaders of the credit unions. The CD cost the credit union between $4 to $5 a copy. The CU made 7,000 copies, complete with a CD jewel case and a CD sleeve with the CU's logo and pictures of its old and new facilities. About 600 members received a copy of the CD at its annual meeting, and there are CDs available upon request. The CD's audio/video show can also be downloaded off of the CUs' Web site at www.cefcu.org....

ONTARIO, Calif. - The CO-OP Network has beefed up its ATM presence in Michigan with the acquisition of the Quantum Network from eFunds. The deal brings 45 Michigan credit unions and 196 ATMs to the CO-OP Network. "Our expansion in the Great Lakes region continues our corporate goal to enhance national access for our members," said Bob Rose, president/CEO of CO-OP Network. "It's a positive development for Michigan credit unions and other CO-OP Network credit unions that have members in this region," said Rose. CO-OP Network currently has 3,700 surcharge-free ATMs in its network spread across 32 states. Prior to this deal, CO-OP Network had a small ATM for presence in Michigan. When the conversion is complete in September the Network transaction volume will increase by 1.9 million per month....

GLASTONBURY, Conn. - Open Solutions Inc. here has announced the launch of Level II of its Open Community Network eCommerce model. OCN is a suite of enabling software designed to help financials create e-commerce opportunities around core financial account transactions. According to OSI, OCN looks to marry e-commerce and Internet banking. Level II features include the following: * Consolidated shopping cart, * One-time registration, * Multiple payment options, * Shipping flexibility, * Usage tracking and documentation, * Spending control options, * Enhanced customization. "Our goal is to usher in a new way of thinking for financial services and the Internet. An institutions Web site does not have to be just a cost center. Our customers' Web sites are profit centers," said Louis Hernandez, chairman and CEO of OSI. OSI said the OCN solution does not afford customers the opportunity to be transported to another vendor or financial's Web page-everything stays within the frames of the financial's site. -pgentile@cutimes.com...

GLENDALE, Calif., - CUShopper, the online member shopping network, gives free marketing materials to its CU clients to promote the shopping service. Recently CUShopper set out to see who is doing the best job of promoting it in their lobbies. Erie General Electric Employees Federal Credit Union, Pa., was awarded the grand prize the best lobby display using CUShopper marketing materials. Erie General Electric Employees FCU will receive a free computer system package. The credit union used the contest to launch its initial promotional campaign for CUShopper, which was added to its web site in March. The credit union displayed CUShopper banners, posters, fliers, balloons and mouse-pads along with computers, CD players and other home electronics to win the competition. "CUShopper offers our members the opportunity to shop on-line using our credit card, debit card or by applying for a credit union loan. We think by having this link our members will have one more reason to visit our web site," said Sandi Carangi, marketing manager for Erie General Electric Employees Federal Credit Union. Erie General Electric Employees FCU has $46 million in assets and serves 10,000 members....

MILFORD, Conn. - MembersResources.com, a credit union portal provider, has partnered with United Online, an ISP and wireless services provider in Englewood, Colorado. The deal allows MembersResources.com CU clients to offer their members co-branded ISP service. MembersResources.com is calling the new service "Members Online." It will include the following features: * Unlimited and unrestricted Internet access, * Five free e-mail addresses per account, * Free Personal Web Page - up to 10MB per account, * Access to 35,000+ newsgroups, * State of the art modems and equipment at each POP (over 1,300 nationwide) for faster, more reliable service. Credit union members will be able to register online for Internet access or they will be able to call a toll free number and have an installation CD mailed to them. Credit unions will receive 50% of the revenue earned from the sale of Internet access to their credit union members. Mark Sessel, CEO of Members Resources.com, said the reason ISP is so important to credit unions is they have a good chance of becoming the member's default home page. The software comes with the portal pre-loaded as the default. MembersResources.com expects to price the service at $12.50 per month. It will debut in mid-July....

MONETT, Mo. - Banking data processor Jack Henry & Associates here has acquired Sys-Tech, Inc., a provider of uninterruptible power supply systems and building and maintaining computer facilities. Sys-Tech has been providing its services to Jack Henry clients since 1991. Sys-Tech also built Jack Henry's first computer facility back in 1986. The stock deal was valued at $16 million. Jack Henry recently acquired credit union data processor Symitar Systems, San Diego, adding 237 credit union clients to its 2,850 banking clients....

ROSEVILLE, Minn. - Twin City Co-ops FCU here joins the growing ranks of credit unions offering their members wireless account access. The credit union now has available nationwide wireless account access via a Palm Pilot VII. Members must download a file from the CU's Web site (www.tcu connect.com), and transfer it to their Palm VII, to use the system. The file creates the members' entry point for Net banking. "This is just the first step in utilizing wireless technology. It is becoming so much a part of everyday life, that we are also looking at ways to provide account information through Internet-capable digital cell phones," said John Gisler, president of TCU. The credit union serves some 47,000 members and has approximately $180 million in assets....

I've got to disagree with the conventional wisdom expressed by publisher Mike Welch in his recent column on RegFlex (CU Times, May 10.) Theoretically, it sounds great. In reality, however, what might actually happen could be quite different. CAMEL ratings are all numerically calculated, except for management. The "M" is the only subjective score. Because of that, you may find NCUA examiners who hand out a "2" with regularity, but never a "1." The conversations in some credit unions goes like this: "You have to walk on water to get a "1." Some credit unions have found that the more they go nose-to-nose with the supervisor, the lower the CU's score seems to fall. It would be a shame if the passage of RegFlex is accompanied by a mysterious deflation in management scores, as some have already predicted. If there is a surprisingly higher number of "3" credit unions, making them ineligible for RegFlex, then those making the prediction would sadly be proven right. It bears watching. George Scheeler President & CEO Matcom FCU...

I would like to clarify a statement of mine in a page one article, "CUNA Commission to gather info, plan blueprint for CU reform legislation" in the May 31 issue of Credit Union Times. I'm quoted as saying that "it's not inconceivable the commission will rethink the idea of the dual chartering system." It is possible that some readers may take this comment to mean that CUNA or the Renaissance Commission will be looking at ways to end the dual chartering system. This is not the case. The importance of the dual chartering system is unquestioned. By "rethink," my intention was to convey a willingness to look at a wide variety of ways of improving the chartering environment for both state and federal credit unions and making it easier for them to serve members. The Commission will need to bring open minds and creativity to this process. We will do everything we can to encourage this. Dan Mica President/CEO CUNA...

Imagine the following scenario: You are a member at a credit union. You are on your very limited lunch hour and have a very important deposit that must be made at the credit union as soon as possible. You are in line behind two other people. The teller is moving as fast as she can, but is having trouble printing receipts and the member ahead of you just took even more of her time as he expressed his concerns regarding the manual receipt the teller had to write for him. Your stomach growls. Finally, you reach the head of the teller line only to snicker at the poster hanging against the opposite wall attesting to the credit union's superior, speedy service. Grabbing a bite to eat is now out of the question. Printers are engrained into almost every single credit union process, especially those processes that touch a credit union's most valuable asset, the member. Even as Internet banking continues to make a name for itself, printers will remain a staple when it comes to credit union technology. That's why it's so surprising that for many credit unions, the purchase of printers is an after-thought. But like most technology purchasing decisions, what is an after-thought today, can come back to haunt in the future. Education is key to making the right decision about printing technology. Receipt and validation printers most commonly come in two types: inkjet or impact. The main difference is that inkjet is a non-contact method (tiny droplets of ink are ejected onto the paper) whereas impact is a contact method (needles strike a ribbon onto the paper). Impact printing is the older technology. Inkjet came of age in the 1980's. To decide between the two, a credit union may need to answer a few questions. These include: How do the two stack up in print quality? Where will the printer be located? What are the maintenance requirements? What is the cost difference between the two? and What type of printer will fit the institution's unique needs? One of the most important things to consider when purchasing any technology product is the output. In this instance a printer's output is measured in print quality and printer performance. Impact printers rely on a ribbon to maintain good ink quality. Typically, ribbon manufacturers rate their ribbon life in terms of characters. However, because ribbons dry out, many times the ribbon will expire before its rated life in characters can be reached. As the ink dries, the ink fades and the printer quality diminishes. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, maintain a good print quality throughout the life of a cartridge. The standard measurement for print quality is optical density. Optical density measures the contrast between the characters and the paper. After about 1 million characters, the optical density of black ribbons falls below that of inkjet and it continues to decline even further as inkjet optical density holds constant. Hewlett Packard, one of the most well-known providers of printers for the POS, and consumer industry, recently did a study proving this fact. The question of printer location addresses two major issues that are important at any teller line: space and noise level. In recent years, credit union tellers have been bombarded with devices that have automated many processes and have increased efficiency and member service. The bi-product of all this automation; however, has been an increased value placed on counter real estate. Further, the hum and clack of credit union peripherals is another factor that has surfaced as a problem regarding the new technologically savvy credit union. Although most devices have a noise level by themselves that is minimal, the noise from a combination of devices can create a distraction as tellers attempt to help members. Overall, impact printers tend to be larger and louder. The reasons for this are found in the printer's electronic make up. The amount of moving parts involved in the impact system and the energy required to fire the needles simply necessitates larger motors, transformers and circuit boards that increase the overall footprint size. Credit unions buying printers for small lobbies and drive-thru areas may want to weigh these two options before proceeding with printer purchases. Maintenance reputations also are a factor to consider when purchasing any type of printer. Printers are just one of those things that we expect to function. Like electricity, one is always amazed when the power goes off and the way we are used to doing things does not work. A little research into maintenance costs and reputations can go a long way. After all, most credit unions keep their teller printers for more than five years. That's a long time to be stuck with something that does not maintain the proper performance level. The last question a credit union should consider is how its transactions differ from retail transactions. With checks, deposit slips, cash tickets, and batch headers to print, credit unions have more demanding form validation requirements than retailers, so easy form insertion is an important consideration. Finding a printer with a large head-gap, the distance between the print head and the paper, is key. In this particular area, inkjet printers historically have had a distinct advantage over impact printers. Credit unions can choose between several manufacturers of receipt and validation printers. Sometimes the array of products can be confusing, but knowing the right questions to ask can help....

The popular "E" (for Entertainment) cable network was way ahead of its time recognizing how important the letter "e" would become throughout the entire world. And right on its heels, that "dot com" would become words instantly recognizable by millions. Today, almost everything, from every variation of B2B (business-to-business) and retail commerce, to everything that impacts a person's life somehow either begins with the letter "e," or is followed by .com, or both. How far will this all go? Who knows, but until it gets there it might be fun to take a light-hearted look at what lies ahead if the growing world of "e's" and "dot coms" get carried to extremes. For example, I was thinking of starting a new church that would be completely virtual. It would have no altar, no pews, no choir loft, or not even an actual brick and mortar building to house my church. The entire church would function strictly on the Internet. The concept is so outlandish that the only logical name for such a church would be to call it "E-Gawd.com." You can see where this is going. Here's a selection of dot com organizations you may never have heard of because they don't exist. Maybe they should? * conversionsRus.com. This site provides information on the currently popular conversion game. It includes a new series of board games requiring moves that have been designed to please members, make life easier for volunteers, provide new challenges for staffs, and amuse state credit union regulators. To win, a credit union must be judged the least likely to do a charter conversion just before switching charters. The go-to-jail card is labeled NCUA. * moneyfirst.com. Here's the place to find help in putting a spin on association membership qualifications. Various scenarios are outlined giving examples of words and music that may be required to convince skeptics that a credit union association can and should adopt whatever rules are needed to serve any person or organization that is willing to pay up front for the privilege. * n-f-p.com. The information on this site includes a complete listing of all legitimate not-for-profit organizations in the United States, currently numbering well over one million. It includes the dwindling number of active credit unions. If downloaded correctly on to the American Bankers Association Web site, and the Web sites of all of its bank members, it has the potential of showing them that their ongoing credit union attacks are misdirected since credit unions represent such a small percentage of n-f-p's' This site can also be found under fantasyland.com. * danmica.com. A relatively new but increasingly popular site. It provides specifics on how to put a national trade association back on track after it had strayed from its primary mission of legislative representation, public relations, education, and research, and became a provider of a wide assortment of trinkets. Can also be found under worldclasstradeassociation.com. * fredbecker.com. A brand new site that, although still considered a work in progress, is already generating a great deal of interest among federal credit unions, regulators, and politicians. Additional information can also be found under several related sites including workaholic.com, wecommunicateinstantly.com, and wearenotafraidtodisagree.com. * normd'amours.com. Only certain e-commerce firms and dot com organizations can access this site. Its use is restricted to underserved computers and low income computer technocrats. Usage is also governed by overlap provisions. Unfortunately, this site is horribly out of date and thus difficult to follow. Related information can also be found at byebye.com. * bigbanks.com. It is almost impossible to utilize this site because the names and structures of the institutions it was designed to include keep changing. Related sites may be helpful. These include screwouremployeesfirst.com, oredernewstationery.com, show me the money.com, and what customerservice.com. Support data can also be checked out at normdamours.com. * levelplayingfield.com. This is a compilation of rules assembled by the banking industry. Rule number one is that if your institution has bank in its name, you must own the field and determine who is on the level and who is eligible to play. Cross reference to themthatownsthegoldmakestherules.com. * dougduerr.com. Fresh information has just been posted on this site. It presents a courageous argument that old-fashioned terms such as "common bond" and "field of membership" may have outlived their usefulness and probably never made much sense anyway, especially for state-charter credit unions. See membershipqualifications.com for new direction. * predatorylending.com. Credit unions have been singled out as the one type of financial institution not permitted any access whatsoever to this site on the basis that they are not involved in the site's subject matter. Despite the loss of any credit union traffic, this site is setting new records for hits on poor people. Also see loanshark.com, and whocaresaboutthosefolksanyway.com. * consumerprivacy.com. Access denied. * dennisdollar.com. This is one of the most flexible sites on the Internet. If you demonstrate that you can mange to navigate it without a lot of outside interference, you are given additional opportunities to show that you know what you are doing. Also look into abreathoffreashair.com. * fraud.com. See bigbank.com. * outrageous fees.com. See bigbank.com. * bankspeak.com. See bigbank.com. * creditunionvolunteer.com. This site outlines how dedicated individuals can take vacation in order to work even harder on behalf of the credit union for no pay. Additional information can be found under ilovemycreditunion.com. As you might imagine, there are a lot more where these came from. Why not join the fun and submit some of your own for use in a future follow-up column? Thanks. Comments? Call 1-800-345-9936, Ext. 15, or Fax 561-683-8514, or E-mail mwelch@cutimes.com....

A lot can change in six months. Below is a look at key credit union stats, and how key indicators dramatically changed in just a six-month span. The trend of loans outpacing shares has continued into 2000....

Kaiperm Federal Credit Union, Oakland, Calif., has named Richard E. Herbert CEO. Utah Credit Union League, Salt Lake City, has named Travis Wood vice president of government relations and director of governmental affairs Gloria Wilkinson has been appointed to the board of trustees of the University of Utah....

Visions, Inc., Clinton, Md., a marketing communications firm, has named Carol Szaroleta account executive. Irwin Mortgage, Indianapolis, a financial services company, has appointed Charles C. Smith vice president of credit union lending. USERS, Inc., a provider of system and services, has appointed Rose Edwards senior sales executive in the southeast region....

Sunmark Federal Credit Union, Schenectady, N.Y., has promoted Erin M. Breslin to vice president of marketing and business development. Virginia Credit Union, Richmond, has elected Belinda W. Blanchard to the board of directors....

Philips Federal Credit Union, Fort Wayne, Ind., has promoted David R. Fleming to president. Wisconsin Corporate Central Credit Union, Hales Corners, Wis., has elected the following officers to its board: Marine Credit Union President Carol D. Schneider, chair; La-Tec Credit Union President Gerald E. Tiedt, vice chair; Pioneer Credit Union President Thomas P. Young, secretary; and Guardian Credit Union President Bill Lange, treasurer. In addition, WCCCU has elected the following directors to its board: First American Credit Union President T.L. Barnes; W.E.A. Credit Union President Suzanne T. Cowan; Heartland Credit Union President Joyce A. Harris; Ripon Community Credit Union President Daniel Ige; Blackhawk Credit Union Director Glenn H. Lea and WCCCU President Mark Schroeder....

Volunteer Corporate Credit Union, Brentwood, Tenn., has elected Employee Resources Credit Union President Randall Hardy to its board of directors. Jax Navy Federal Credit Union, Jacksonville, Fla., CEO/President Terry R. West has been elected to serve for a two year term on the board of directors of Payment Systems for Credit Unions Service Centers, Inc. In addition, Jax Navy FCU has appointed Don Rahn information systems network manager and promoted Kelly Blount to vice president of deposit services and Brenda Turner to vice president of consumer lending. Publix Employees Federal Credit Union, Lakeland, Fla., has named Amy Anderson Taylor director of marketing. Central Florida Educators' Federal Credit Union, Orlando, has promoted Tangie Johnson to assistant vice president/branch manager of the Apopka branch....

Community Credit Union, Plano, Texas, has in conjunction with the city of Plano, awarded the Paul L. Standberry Memorial Scholarship to Starlett Carter and Paymon Bagheri. Scholarship recipients are awarded $500 per semester during their first year of college to assist with expenses. In addition, CCU has raised $25,105.16 for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica program. The total donation was a result of several programs including Tennis Shoes Sale and Blue Jeans for Babies. CCU was named the Top New Team for the fund raising effort and among all teams in the 100-499 employee division,the credit union took first place for its T-shirt design. CCU has $752 million in assets and serves over 145,000 members. Dearborn Federal Credit Union, Mich., has announced that Joseph Tracz of Northville, Jennifer Somand of Bloomfield and Aditi Saxena of Livonia are the recipients of the Founder's Scholarship. Applicants were chosen based on their extra-curricular and community service activities, grade point average and an original essay focusing on the theme "Who in your life has most demonstrated the credit union philosophy of `people helping people'." Tracz and Somand have been awarded $1,500 that is renewable up to four years based on continued academic achievement. Sazena has received a one-time $500 scholarship. California Credit Union League, CUNA Mutual Group and the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation, an educational and philanthropic organization, have awarded $38,700 in scholarships to help credit union professionals attend Western CUNA Management School. The awards will help 44 credit union professionals from 10 western states attend the intensive training program for credit union executives, managers and supervisors. Foundation scholarships vary in size based in part on students' need, educational level and the sized of their credit union. Western Division Credit Union, Williamsville, N.Y., has awarded six $500 scholarships to high school seniors. Applicants were judged on academic performance, extracurricular activities, community service, leadership positions, honors and awards. The scholarship winners are Alicia Sim, Frontier Central; Kathryn Crocker, LaSalle Senior High School; Benjamin Ahlstrom, Dunkirk Senior High School; Sean Dixon, City Honors; Amanda Alessi, Immaculata Academy; and Nicole Barone, Kenmore West High School....

Citizens Equity Federal Credit Union, Peoria, Ill., has raised $16,000 during the "Partners in Peace" luncheon for the Center for Prevention of Abuse. The event recognizes individuals in Central Illinois who have furthered the Center's mission of eliminating interpersonal abuse and violence in the community. Rebecca Lobo of the WNBA's New York Liberty team was the keynote speaker. Parishioners Federal Credit Union, Torrance, Calif., has raised $14,234 through its credit card program. The donation check will be returned in income to Parishioners FCU sponsor parishes. The 1999 donation is a 19% increase compared to 1998. PFCU has $30 million in assets and serves 6,451 members. Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, Lowell, Mass., has raised $30,000 for the March of Dimes. Over the course of the year JDCU staff and members contributed by purchasing paper sneakers, chocolates, adopting "Healthy Baby" bears and participating in WalkAmerica. Since 1939 the mission of the March of Dimes has been to improve the health of babies by preventing infant mortality and birth defects. JDCU has $360.6 million in assets and serves 28,546 members. St. Mary's Bank, Manchester, N.H., has donated $500 to Manchester Neighborhood Housing in support of Neighborfest. Neighborfest, which began three years ago as a small block party by residents, celebrates pride in the revitalization of the neighborhood. St. Mary's Bank has $339.6 million in assets and serves 42,740 members. Oakland County Chapter of Michigan Credit Unions , has donated $3,000 to the Habitat for Humanity of North Oakland. The donation will be used to purchase a piece of property in the city of Pontiac. Sunmark Federal Credit Union, New York, has raised $1,045 for WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes' annual fund-raiser. Proceeds are used to support lifesaving research and community programs that help prevent birth defects, low birthweight and infant deaths. Sunmark FCU has $135.7 million in assets and serves 28,328 members. Weyerhaeuser Employees Credit Union, Longview, Wash., and Cowlitz Public Employees' Credit Union have teamed up to donate their time to give "Financial Fitness" classes to local area high school seniors. The classes will provide basic knowledge about credit cards, checking accounts, and student loans. In addition, WECU has awarded $1,500 in scholarships to ten students....