Payments/Credit/Debit

The increased attention credit unions have begun to pay to their credit card portfolios has continued to yield results as NCUA records show that 69% of CU card portfolios grew in the 12 months between March 2006 and March 2007, while 31% declined in value.

Credit unions seeking to diversify and tailor their ATM strategies were offered yet another possible alternative last week as two industry players announced a new surcharge free initiative.

There is no shortage of opinions within the payments industry regarding PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards), and these opinions are largely driven by perspective.

Credit Union 24, the large credit union owned ATM and EFT network that is headquartered in Florida, said that there are indications that credit unions have begun to put a greater value on credit union ownership of their vendors and networks.

TNB Card Services, the card portfolio processing arm of credit union owned Town North Bank, has rolled out a product designed to help credit unions who process with the bank to better understand the flow of card data they receive.

Ted Stearns, the owner of Tradeline Solutions, a company which facilitates the of the use of "authorized users" to strong credit lines as a means of helping consumers boost their credit scores, defends his company's line of work as benefiting both consumers and credit unions.