Fiserv says 41 credit unions have bought CredAccess so far. They range in size from $1.3 million to $512 million in assets and are saving an average of 16% on their credit reporting costs, the company says.

"The switch to CredAccess is seamless, with no additional software to learn, no change in the lending process and no end user staff training required," said Quinton Hamel, Fiserv program manager. "It's a simple, hassle-free switch. With many clients we can install it, test it and go live the same day."

The Fiserv Credit Union Division comprises AFTECH, CUSA Technologies, Galaxy, IntegraSys, Summit Information Systems, USERS and XP Systems.

CredAccess offers additional services that include a Tri-Merge Credit Report that provides a consolidated view of all three bureaus at a lower cost than separate reports; an automated valuation model that Fiserv says eliminates the high costs and delays of on-site property appraisals for real estate loans; marketing triggers that notify the credit union when a credit report has been pulled for members considering a loan elsewhere; and flood zone reports.

Diablo Valley FCU Expands FOM, Reach With Digital Dialogue

CONCORD, Calif. — Diablo Valley Federal Credit Union is serving its expanded field of membership without adding staff or facilities.

The $37 million CU has joined the shared branch network of Financial Service Centers Cooperative and is using the 24/7 Custom Call Center Outlet managed by Digital Dialogue.

The CU currently has about 3,500 members and has expanded its FOM to include people who live, worship, work or attend school in central Contra Costa County, and businesses and other legal entities there.

Through Digital Dialogue, it can now provide member services, including enrollment, over the Web, at branches and through the suburban Detroit company's call center.

Digital Dialogue is owned by PSCU Financial Services. Its Call Center Outlet is the highest volume outlet in FSCC's shared branch network, the company says.

Edentify, eDominate Link Lending, Identity Verification Solutions

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The identity management and fraud detection solutions of Edentify Inc. are being introduced to the online lending market through a partnership with eDominate Inc.

Phoenix, Ariz.-based eDominate is a provider of loan origination and e-commerce systems and other buying-cycle management software for financial institutions.

Edentify's IDScreen tools, which vets applicant information in real time and measures level of identity risk, now will used with eDominate's LOS to verify and monitor loan applicants' identities at eDominate's customer credit unions, the companies say.

"Now we have exposure to thousands of credit unions potentially using our identity fraud solutions," says Terence DeFranco, CEO of Edentify in Bethlehem, Pa. "Moreover, this partnership gives eDominate's customers a powerful tool to ensure the validity of their loan applicants' identities."

DR Software Specialist Adds Consulting Services

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. — Double-Take Software has added consulting services to its lineup of recovery software.

Services include disaster recovery, VMware installation and a customer "Health Check," a post-deployment service that helps customers meet compliance certification while exercising failover and failback techniques for business continuity, the company said.

Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union in Plano, Texas, used the Health Check service recently to analyze its installation of Double-Take Software solutions.

"With an increasingly complex IT infrastructure, the Health Check Service was important not only to help ensure we meet compliance, but to confirm that our high-availability plans remain in operating condition," said Jerod Wright, the corporate's network services manager.

"We know it's rare for personnel to be well-versed in a wide range of environments, including Microsoft, Mare, RIM Blackberry and Oracle products in combination with disaster recovery deployments," said Mike Lash, vice president of professional services and support for Double-Take Software in Southborough, Mass.

"With Double-Take Recovery Consulting Services, we can share our expertise from thousands of deployments to help design, plan, architect and optimally maintain the most complicated, mission-critical environments," he said.

America First Goes with Firethorn, CheckFree for Mobile Service

OGDEN, Utah — America First Credit Union will soon be offering its 432,000 members the ability to pay bills, check balances and transfer funds on their mobile devices.

The $4 billion CU says it plans to go live with a mobile solution in the first quarter of 2008 using a platform from Firethorn Holdings LLC of Atlanta in partnership with CheckFree Corp.

America First says it selected Firethorn because of its relationships with the nation's two largest wireless carriers and because the application can be pre-loaded on AT&T mobile handsets, thus increasing visibility and likelihood of user adoption.

"We concluded Firethorn's pre-loaded, single sign-on solution and CheckFree's proven expertise in electronic bill payments provided the best solution for our members," says America First President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Craig.

Firethorn says its solution is customizable and branded, allowing America First to showcase specific products and services. Because the mobile banking solution will be embedded on the mobile device, wireless users will be able to easily locate the application and sign up, Firethorn says.

Firethorn's exclusive partnership with CheckFree was cited by America First as another factor for choosing the mobile service software provider.

"America First … has been a valued CheckFree online bill payment partner since 2000," says Alex Hart, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree Electronic Banking Services. "We're pleased that America First members will soon be able to access the same CheckFree electronic billing and payment services through their Firethorn-enabled mobile devices."

PSE CU Adopts FirstClose Suite for Web-Based Mortgage Help

PARMA, Ohio — PSE Credit Union is the newest adopter of the FirstClose suite of Web-based mortgage lending products.

FirstClose, a service of First Lenders Data Inc. of Austin, Texas, will provide the $90 million credit union in suburban Cleveland online access to a range of services, including flood zone determinations, AVMs, desktop appraisals, income verification, document preparation, closing services, title and lien reports and recording.

"FirstClose streamlines our processes and provides access to the top vendors in an extremely user-friendly format," says PSECU loan manager Cheryl Schill.

Aimbridge Upgrades LOS For CUs, Car Dealers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Aimbridge Lending Solutions has released a new version of its workflow management platform for credit unions and car dealers.

AimbridgeConnect 2.0 uses the Microsoft .NET 2.0 framework to add user interface and navigation enhancements to its direct, indirect and Web-based lending solutions. Market and customer-level communication tools also were added to allow the software to post messages for consumers about market news, new products, tips and case studies, the company says.

The suite also includes an online application called AppLine, LoanTrack for tracking and queuing, and PowerBridge, which interfaces the lending system with a credit union's core processing system.

"It's a lot more user friendly and it's great to be able to leave notes for the dealership or credit union staff," says a first user, Jeff Miller, president of $66 million Peoples Credit Union in North Miami, Fla.

Web Signup Tools Added To HSA Clearing Corp. Solution

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Online enrollment functionality has been added to the turnkey Health Savings Account solution from HSA Clearing Corp., the company says.

"Developing an online application can cost thousands of dollars, but using our secure online HSA application can save our clients that expense," says Tim Morales, president of HSA Clearing in Lake Geneva, Wis.

The application also can be personalized for agent referrals and group tracking, Morales says.

He says his company has seen credit union interest in HSAs surge in the wake of tax law changes that began this year.

"Employee benefit companies, insurance agencies and agents are now referring their local financial institutions to us so their clients can set up their HSAs with local providers," Morales says.