Hawthorne Credit Union in Naperville, Ill., is now offering mobile banking.
The $149 million, 14,000-member institution is using technology from Fiserv Credit Union Solutions to offer the service.
The service is free and can be accessed from any Web-enabled phone by typing m.ehawthorne.org into the browser, said Sandy Manisco, the credit union's vice president of marketing.
“No separate sign up is required,” she said. “Members simply use the same secure log in and multifactor security questions they use for their online banking.”
Hawthorne CU has offices in Naperville, Bolingbrook and on the campus of Alcatel Lucent.

Digital FCU Deploys Online
Loan Application Module

Digital Federal Credit Union said it has collected about 1,600 loan applications worth $20 million since it launched its use of a consolidated online membership and loan application Web module from fiVISION, an Indianapolis-based CUSO.
The $4.4 billion CU in Marlborough, Mass., is the first user of the solution, which the company said bypasses data entry screens and allows an applicant to become a new member and obtain a loan without retyping any personal or financial data.
The credit union has averaged about 65 applications a day on the service since it was launched on March 25, according to Diane Richard, vice president of consumer loans for the 370,000-member Digital.
The module, which is deployed in-house as part of the credit union's online presence, provides applicants with loan options, including final payment choices, before they're asked to commit.
“Today, our members know exactly what they want in a loan in relation
to their budgets,” Richard said. “With this module, they don't have to go through the entire loan application process to discover their monthly payment. All that information is provided up front.”
Integrating that with online enrollment also encourages the process to continue and conclude with a loan closed and member added, the company said.
“This process is like getting 'two birds with one stone,'” said Mike Winter, president of fiVISION. “We've streamlined the process of becoming a member and being approved for a loan, taking this operation from two separate steps to completing them in one session without any of the redundancies of repeated data input.”

Branch Finder Added to
Navy Federal Web Site

Branch- and ATM-location mapping tools have been added to Navy Federal Credit Union's Web site at www.navyfederal.org.
The world's largest credit union is now one of more than two dozen credit unions using the BranchMap solution from Code Green LLC of Gaithersburg, Md.
BranchMap provides interactive mapping services of branches and ATMs, satellite views, driving directions and usage tracking. Navy Federal has more than three million members, 176 branches and access to more than 40,000 ATMs.
“We see BranchMap as another way to help our members simplify their lives,” said Julie Griffin, vice president of electronic services at the $39 billion Navy Federal in Vienna, Va.

Symitar Adds Staffers

Three more Symitar Episys specialists have joined CUTEK, a consultancy specializing in the core processing system from Jack Henry & Associates.
They include Eric Lizotte, formerly of Wescom Resources Group, as a product development leader. Lizotte is working on CUTEK's new collections software package. Also new to CUTEK is Curt Cravy, formerly of Community One FCU, who will serve as project manager. The third is Scott Kennedy, a former Symitar Episys programmer who will work with the consulting business.
“Our staff continues to grow with knowledgeable and experienced individuals to address our clients' individual technology needs,” says Ron Murray, president of CUTEK in Murrieta, Calif. The company now has more than 120 credit union clients.