ST PETERSBURG, Fla. - PSCU Financial Services, the cardprocessing cooperative for over 500 credit unions that processtheir cards with First Data Corporation, has signed the $4.7million BECU, headquartered in Seattle, Wash. BECU's arrival to thecooperative brings roughly 140,000 additional accounts to the fourmillion that PSCU, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida,already serves. The credit union came to PSCU after having beenwith the same card processing firm for the last 18 years. AaronBresko, director of loan services for BECU explained that BECU wasconsidering changing its processor for over a year and put the movein the context of feeling a need to re-tool its card program. "Wehad a card program for seven or eight years and really neverchanged it much," Bresko said. Joe Brancucci, vice president andchief lending officer of BECU said that "by working with PSCU, ourcardholders will gain 24 x 7 services, and our credit union willbenefit from the company's state-of-the-art risk management toolsand proven expertise in cardholder servicing." Merry Pateuk,spokeswoman for the cooperative, said that PSCU was very excited bythe opportunity to serve the members of the 50th largest creditcard issuer in the country. Bresko didn't specify what changes inBECU's card program might arise from the shift to PSCU, butpossibilities include changes to the program's rewards program,which it has administered so far on its own, and the addition ofthe 24/7 cardholder service that is one of PSCU's specialties.