Under the terms of the deal, CU members will be able to perform any of the sorts of transactions, including making deposits which they make at shared branching tellers or the shared branching kiosks that FSCC has begun to offer its member CUs, Bang explained.

FSCC will be the second credit union industry organization to establish a significant relationship with the 7-Eleven store chain. CO-OP Financial Services, the credit union-owned ATM network that is the parent company of the Service Centers Corporation shared branch network, has already established a relationship that allows members of CO-OP network CUs use of ATMs in the store for free.

Stan Hollen, CEO of CO-OP, said CO-OP knew that FSCC would launch an initiative with 7-Eleven and that the CO-OP welcomed it as another way to make credit union accounts available to CU members. Hollen did question how much demand there might be for shared branching in the stores and if the economics of it add up.

"Shared branch transactions are more expensive than ATM transactions and I am not sure how many more things an average credit union member on an average day is going to want to do through a shared branch kiosk that they wouldn't be able to do through an ATM," Hollen said.

Depository services appear to be the biggest plus the kiosks will offer, especially with envelope-free deposits looming on the horizon. But Hollen pointed out that CU members whose CUs are CO-OP network members would already be able to make deposits to their accounts using the CO-OP machines. "There does seem to be a little overlap," Hollen remarked.

Hollen also pointed out that for members who have not yet authenticated themselves for self-service shared branching transactions, and chosen a personal identification number, there were almost certainly going to be security issues.

Craig Beach, vice president with Credit Union Service Corporation, the shared branching network headquartered in Atlanta, shared Hollen's skepticism even as he welcomed the move by FSCC.

"In one sense we have to applaud the deal since it will let credit union members access their accounts more easily and that is what we are all about, as an industry. But with that said I have to ask what their demographic is? What sort of CU member is going to want to make these sorts of transactions in 7-Eleven stores?"

Beach explained that surveys had shown that the average CU member who used shared branching tended to be middle class and a sophisticated user of CU services. It was not clear that these members would necessarily be keen to use a kiosk for the sometimes complicated transactions that shared branches had to offer. He also noted that, currently, the kiosks didn't have the ability to take numerous checks as one deposit. If a member wants to deposit three $25 checks for a total deposit of $75, the kiosks would have to recognize those as three separate deposits and three separate transaction fees to the CU.

"I think that kiosks are one way that is currently developing and will continue to develop," Beach said, adding that CUSC is also working on a similar arrangement with a kiosk manufacturer for its own kiosk, which can be used for shared branch transactions. "I am just not sure we have finished tweaking it or working on it yet."

In the end, sources familiar with 7-Elevens, credit unions and ATMs predicted that FSCC and 7-Eleven were going to face challenges in getting CU members used to walking into a 7-Eleven outlet to make financial transactions other than at ATMs.

For FSCC, the problem may be to get credit union members to trust and use the machines. Already, CUs, which have taken the Ensenta kiosks that FSCC is offering, report having to conduct some member education to get members to differentiate between the shared branch machines and ATMs. In the case of the 7-Eleven machines, the challenge may be getting members to understand that shared branching transactions are possible and safe in machines which already offer ATM services, check cashing and, in many places, remittances as well.

"7-Elevens are convenience stores and they are very good at being convenience stores," Beach said. "I am not sure how accepted they will be as the sites for financial transactions."

Meanwhile, all sources agreed that while kiosks would continue to blur the lines between different channels people used to get at their money, by themselves they wouldn't significantly undercut the ATM, at least for the foreseeable future.

"As long as people need cash, they are going to need ATMs." Hollen said. "Frankly, debit cards have been doing more to undercut the use of cash than anything else," he added, "but the good news is that per ATM cash volume has stabilized now after falling for a time," he added. [email protected]