TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Credit Union 24, the large credit unionowned ATM and EFT network that is headquartered in Florida, saidthat there are indications that credit unions have begun to put agreater value on credit union ownership of their vendors andnetworks.

“When a consumer of an organization's product or service has anownership interest in that organization, it stands to reason thatthe organization is compelled to act in the best interest of thatconsumer,” explained Jim Park, president and CEO of Credit Union24. “That model is paramount to the success of the credit unionmovement.”

In a prepared statement Park contended that more credit unionsare realizing this value in the wake of large corporate mergers andbuy-outs that can work to undermine the ideals that credit unionshave historically upheld.

“Despite some bold attempts by some of these new entities to woolarger institutions off of credit union-focused processors andnetworks, credit unions generally have held firm,” the statementsaid.

Credit Union 24 has signed 15 new credit unions to the networkso far this year, including $1.5 billion Tower Federal CreditUnion, and has seen transaction volumes increase by more than 16percent over the same period last year.