Credit union payments fintech Co-op Solutions took home “Fintech Company of the Year” honors in the annual Prometheus Awards, held November 2 in Des Moines, Iowa. Organized by the Technology Association of Iowa (TAI), the program annually recognizes what the association calls the “most momentous achievements in technology.” Co-op Solutions joined the Iowa technology community in 2017 when it acquired Des Moines-based payments processor TMG, and still maintains a large employee population in the area. TAI selected Co-op from a large slate of nominees. Ultimately, the association recognized Co-op for its deployment of more than 1,000 software updates over the past 18 months. The updates include platform enhancements like Springboard Modern Experience, which provides real-time access to credit and debit cardholder account information, and the Co-op Insight Center, a reporting tool for credit, debit and ATM portfolios. “Like most technology teams, we have been working to increase delivery of new software over the last several years,” said Pam Brodsack, SVP, Technology Delivery. “What sets Co-op apart is that we have found a unique and creative solution to meet challenging speed-to-market demands. The ultimate beneficiaries of faster, lower-overhead payments software are credit union members, who we are proud to serve alongside our credit union partners.” According to Brodsack, those solutions include multiple teams developing software with modern cloud-based infrastructures and microservice architecture. The teams work in shared code bases and many cross-platform dependencies to create new, high-quality features. This enables Co-op to deploy software even when all necessary components are not complete, keeping innovation moving and credit unions actively involved in development through beta-test engagements. The full list of 2023 Prometheus Award nominees is available at technologyiowa.org/prometheus. To learn more about Co-op’s integrated payments technology solutions, visit coop.org.
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PSECU is putting financial education tools directly into the hands of its youngest members with help from their new partner, Greenlight® Financial Technology, Inc. PSECU members will now have access to the award-winning Greenlight family finance app, available through the Greenlight for Credit Unions program. Greenlight equips parents with an easy, convenient way to teach their kids about money, aligned with PSECU’s dedication to providing members with free financial education resources. Starting today, Greenlight will be offered to members at no cost*, as an additional benefit of PSECU membership. “Our partnership with Greenlight enables us to deliver vital financial education tools and resources to young people, helping them build money management skills for a lifetime,” said PSECU Director of Marketing & Deposit Strategy, Sharon Eiswert. “According to a Greenlight survey, 97% of parents say financial knowledge and skills are necessary for kids to achieve life goals and 93% of teens agree.” Greenlight’s app and debit card enable parents to send money to their children instantly, automate allowance payments, manage chores, set flexible spending controls, and get real-time transaction notifications, all with the convenience of a cashless system. Kids and teens get hands-on money management experience learning to earn, save, give, and spend wisely with parental supervision. Within the app, they also have access to Greenlight Level Up™, an interactive financial literacy game with best-in-class curriculum, educational challenges, and rewards. "We built Greenlight for Credit Unions to collaborate with credit unions to better serve families and engage the next generation with best-in-class financial education," said Matt Wolf, SVP of Business Development at Greenlight. “Leading credit unions like PSECU are uniquely well-equipped to help improve financial literacy with their dedication to local communities and exceptional care of members." PSECU members will receive a Greenlight subscription for free* when they register online at greenlight.com/psecu and add their PSECU account as a funding source. Parents can add up to five children, each with their own debit card and app access. Chuck Purvis has been named Interim CEO and Board Member of Ecority, a nonprofit that has built a national coalition of credit unions and state-chartered green banks and applied for an aggregate of $14.87B in grant funding from the EPA-administered Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Purvis retired as President/CEO of the $4.8B Coastal Federal Credit Union headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this year and brings more than four decades of credit union industry experience to his new role. Throughout his career, Purvis has founded multiple companies, bringing new technology to market to benefit credit unions and their members. “I’m thrilled to lead Ecority as it develops the resources cooperatives need to become national leaders in green lending,” says Purvis. “Through collaboration, we can help more members affordably finance electric vehicles and home improvement projects, while enhancing the financial health of low-income and disadvantaged communities by reducing their energy costs.” Ecority’s grant application has received the full endorsement of NAFCU and CUNA and its coalition includes regional and state credit union leagues representing thousands of community lenders in every U.S. state and territory. Ecority plans to use the grant to fund a guaranty pool and provide technical assistance, enabling credit unions to autonomously lend for more eligible projects at lower rates, and include borrowers who may not otherwise qualify. While the grant submission period has ended, interested credit unions may still apply to participate and potentially become subrecipients of grant funds through Ecority, by visiting ecority.org/register and submitting a letter of interest. Registration is now open for ALM First’s 2024 Financial Institute. This must-attend event provides continuing education, financial analyst training, current market trends and industry updates to ensure everyone involved in managing or monitoring the balance sheet remains current with timely insights designed to have a direct impact on the success of your financial institution. The industry-leading workshop will be held in-person at The Las Colinas Resort, Dallas from March 24-27, 2024. Board directors, financial analysts, treasury staff, C-suite level executives, and others involved in their financial institution’s balance sheet are invited to attend. “This is an exciting opportunity for financial professionals of all levels to obtain pertinent information and enhance their understanding of finance and treasury functions that directly benefit current goals and inform future strategies,” said Emily Hollis, CFA, CEO of ALM First. “This year’s event will provide our clients with networking opportunities to engage directly with their peers and ALM First’s experienced team.” Online registration is now open for the annual three-day educational conference, with early-bird pricing available through Friday, Feb. 16. The 2024 Financial Institute’s three learning tracks, Board, Fundamental, and Funds Management, are specifically tailored to meet the knowledge level of attendees and best serve their role within the institution. In addition to the breakout tracks, general sessions will offer an economic overview, a regulatory update, and discussions on industry hot topics. The conference will also feature several networking opportunities, including three evening events, as part of the registration fee. Attendees may earn up to 16.2 CPE credits. Visit the 2024 Financial Institute event website at www.almfirst.com/financialinstitute for more information. Across the Hawaiian Islands, people of all ages and walks of life are experiencing homelessness and the number of those in need of housing continues to rapidly increase. HOPE Services Hawai’i plays a very important role in leading the way to end homelessness on our island and HFS Federal Credit Union has gladly provided support. Throughout the month of October, monetary donations were collected at six branches island wide. “With the assistance and generosity of our members, staff, and individuals from the community, we were able to raise more than $28,000 to support their critical programs and services. We are incredibly humbled and grateful for everyone’s contributions toward the success of this fundraising campaign.” The Credit Union was also one of the sponsors for the HOPE Services Sacred Heart Affordable Housing Project units, which is dedicated to housing kupuna in our community. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with HOPE Services Hawai’i in assisting with the Sacred Heart Affordable Housing Project. Our talented and creative team was able to turn a unit into a beautiful home for a kupuna that will be enjoyed for years to come. We are honored to have played a small part in this very important senior housing development.” Nathan N. Abe, President-CEO, HFS Federal Credit Union. A check in the amount of $28,700 was presented to HOPE Services Hawai’i’s CEO Brandee Menino at the recent grand opening of the housing project. “We are immensely grateful to HFS FCU for their generous support in our first affordable housing development project. Their dedication to the community and commitment to creating a safe and comfortable environment for those in need is truly commendable. Together, we are making a positive impact on the lives of our kūpuna, providing them with the dignity and comfort they deserve. We couldn't have done it without HFS FCU's invaluable partnership. Thank you for your unwavering support and generosity." – Brandee Menino, Chief Executive Officer, HOPE Services Hawai’i, Inc. HFS considers it an honor and a privilege to support great organizations, like HOPE Services Hawai’i, that serve the community. It is because of support from their members and Big Island organizations that HFS is the place “where caring counts” for the past 86 years and counting. by Liza Gillan Vice President, Operational Risk & Compliance Alloya Corporate FCU Meet the “Sister Swifties,” Lisa, Britney and Carla. As big-time, lifelong fans of the music sensation Taylor Swift, they donned that nickname years ago, long before the artist’s Eras Tour was even a glimmer in their eyes. Naturally, from the moment the tour was announced, they tried desperately to get tickets. When they sold out with unprecedented demand at lightning speed, the Sister Swifties were sadly left empty-handed. Adding insult to injury, Carla’s 16-year-old daughter, Reese, is more obsessed with Taylor Swift than the Sister Swifties combined! She was heartbroken when tickets sold out. As the tour got into full swing and social media exploded with Eras Tour content, Reese grew increasingly devastated at the thought of missing out… until the Sister Swifties hatched a plan. Lisa: You guys, check out this post!!! Someone from the local garage sale site on Facebook is selling Eras Tour tickets for $400 each!!! Should I buy four tickets?! Three for us Sister Swifties and one as a surprise for Reese!?! Carla: If this is legit, I’m soooo in!! That’s amazing if they are real. Reese will be so happy if we get these! Lisa: How would I know if they’re real? The lady looks legit… she’s been on Facebook since 2009. Britney: I’m 1000000% in! Can you find her on social media outside of the garage sale group? Does she have real friends? LOL! Lisa: Britney, can you research her? I’m out to dinner with my family and they’re getting irritated I’m on the phone. Britney: I don’t have a lot of time either. I’m packing to leave for vacation in the morning. But I feel like we need to act on this fast because they’ll sell quick! I’ll look at it now! Britney: OMG I’m getting excited. I just messaged her and she sent back a Ticketmaster screenshot. I don’t know how to tell if it’s real since she blacked out some of the details, but that’s probably for her own protection! And the seats are AMAZING! Definitely worth double or quadruple what she’s charging. I just asked her how to pay. I’m nervous… LOL. Carla: Is she asking for Venmo? Seems like you should be able to pay through Ticketmaster. Britney: She said she can take Venmo. She just sent me a screenshot of the ticket too. Should I offer to pay for 1 ticket then ask her to send it to make sure it actually shows up in my Ticketmaster account? Then we can buy the other 3? Losing $400 is better than $1600! Lisa: Yes! I’ll take that risk! Britney: She said she doesn’t think she can split tickets. Shoot. I’ll just offer to pay for one and then tell her I’ll pay the rest after she sends all 4 tickets. She’s concerned that we are going to scam her too but hopefully she’ll agree to that. Carla: Do it! Britney: She said ok! I’ll try to send now. Fingers crossed this is for real… I’m getting so excited! 30 minutes later... Lisa: What’s the update? I’m dying to find out. Do you have the tickets in your account? Britney: She just sent me a payment request on Venmo from her cousin’s account. It won’t send to her email for some reason. But don’t worry… I’ve been researching her on social media and I know where she lives. LOL! We will get these tickets or I’ll go knock on her door! Okay, I just sent her the money! 10 minutes later... Britney: She was confirming payment like 10 minutes ago and now I haven’t heard back from her. Carla: Hurry up, lady! 10 minutes later... Britney: Ok, now she said she misunderstood me. She wants payment for 2 tickets first and then she’ll send all 4. Should I go for it at this point? Send her another $400? I don’t get the vibe she is a scammer. She seems really worried that we’re scamming her. Lisa: Yeah, do it! I’m already picking out my outfit! Britney: Ok. Done. She’s waiting on her cousin to tell her she received our payment. But these Venmo payments are immediate so either they are really slow at texting each other or we fell for a scam. 5 minutes later... Britney: Oh no. We are definitely scammed! She blocked me on Facebook so I can no longer message her! Carla: What? I’m furious! Did we just lose $800?!?! Lisa: What do we do now? Carla: Dispute the payments immediately with Venmo and with your credit union. Lisa: I’m beginning to think this woman’s Facebook account was hacked. I bet the person you were messaging with isn’t the real Facebook account owner. Hence why she asked you to send it to her “cousin’s” account instead of hers. Guarantee you she doesn’t have a cousin… we just sent the money directly to the person who hacked that lady’s Facebook account. I feel so stupid. Carla: So unfair. I wonder how many other people this person scammed from the same post. The next morning... Lisa: Did you hear anything back from Venmo or your credit union? Britney: Not yet. But I don’t have much hope. I did a bunch of research and I don’t think we have a valid dispute because we did actually authorize the payments. So now we’ll just have to bear the loss. Carla: That stinks. I’ll Venmo you now for my portion of the loss so you’re not out all of the money. Lisa: Same, and we will pretend this never happened. I suppose it was too good to be true. Lesson learned. Unfortunately for the Sister Swifties, they were right – they never recouped their loss. While Reg E does provide consumer protection from liability in certain instances, those protections do not apply when a consumer does in fact authorize an electronic payment, which was the case in this scenario. How could these sisters have spotted the scam? Did you notice moments where they made hasty decisions with little precaution? Did you identify any red flags that should have prompted them to pause? Help your members learn from their mistakes and educate them on what to look out for in this common person-to-person (P2P) fraud scheme! P2P Fraud Red Flags
Skyrocketing P2P Scams Unfortunately, these P2P scams happen all the time. According to Consumer Reports (2022), 18% of consumers use a P2P service once a week. Of these heavy users, half report having been victims of a scam. And the fraudsters are getting bolder. The average dollar amount of fraud attempted through P2P channel is 60% higher than the average card-not-present fraud attempt. What steps can credit unions take to protect members? Preventing P2P Fraud Pitfalls Member education is critical in the ongoing fight against P2P fraud. The NCUA has provided some useful tips to keep money safe when using P2P apps: 1.Question Ask yourself if using a P2P payment app makes sense for your transaction. Use P2P payment apps only with people you know and trust, if possible. You should never have to transfer money to receive money from an app. If you are asked to do that, it’s a scam. 2.Verify Always double-check the recipient’s information to make sure you’re sending money to the right person, even if it is someone you know. A good practice is to have the intended recipient send you a request before you send the money. 3.Review Familiarize yourself with the fraud protection policies of the P2P payment app that you are using and understand whether and how you can recover funds if a problem arises. 4.Reconsider If your P2P app is linked to a checking account as a source of funds, consider linking instead to a credit card. A credit card provides added protection if you don’t receive the goods or services you purchased. 5.Protect Protect your payment app and log in with the strongest authentication available, like Face ID or Touch ID, two-factor authentication, a strong password, or a PIN. Turn off automatic login settings and set up notifications for all payment transactions. 6.Contact Never provide sensitive account information to someone on the phone or via links in an email. Legitimate customer service representatives will not ask for this information. If someone contacts you requesting this information, contact customer service directly to confirm. Scammers can spoof emails and phone numbers. We're Here to Help Alloya stands ready to assist credit unions in preventing fraud and making payment processing more secure. We welcome feedback from our credit union members on how we can better help you in this important effort. For more information about P2P fraud scams, or to share your feedback with Alloya, please contact the author, Liza Gillan, at liza.gillan@alloyacorp.org or Alloya’s Compliance Department at compliance@alloyacorp.org. Achieva Credit Union Partners with The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program to Help Children in Need11/19/2023 Achieva Credit Union has partnered with The Salvation Army for its annual Angel Tree donation drive to provide a meaningful and impactful way to support local families in need. This program will take place from Nov. 20 through Dec. 8, 2023, and will provide many children with gifts this holiday season. "Because of the unwavering support of our members and community, we're bringing the magic of the holidays to countless children who might have otherwise felt forgotten," said Achieva Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Galley. "Our collaboration with The Salvation Army holds a special place in our hearts, as it allows us to ease the weight of financial struggles for families in need. Every donation received will help to spread joy to local children by providing toys, bikes, clothing, and more. Gifts collected will bring the warmth of the holiday season to those who need it the most." The Achieva Credit Union leadership team invites everyone in the community to participate in creating unforgettable holiday memories for families in need by following these easy steps:
Achieva Credit Union branches in Charlotte, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties will participate in this giveback program. To view the branch addresses and their hours of operation, visit www.achievacu.com/Home/Locations. When the donation drive ends, The Salvation Army will collect all donations from the Achieva Credit Union branches and distribute the gifts before December 25, 2023. Families in need hoping to benefit from the Angel Tree program can apply online at https://saangeltree.org. DeepTarget Inc., a transformational financial services company that provides Growth-as-a-Service™ aka GRaaS™ to community financial institutions (FIs), announces the release of its first Gen AI solution, ADbuzz™ to enable FI marketing professionals to design key components of a banner or display ad and then assemble these to compose a complete ad in just minutes. Leveraging Gen AI and marketing technology, ADbuzz™ generates inspired, high-quality display ad content including imagery and messaging to promote financial products and related information. Powered by large AI models, ADbuzz™ learns the patterns and relationships in a dataset of human-created content to rapidly generate new content. The more data these models receive and generate, the more convincing and human-like their outputs will become. The magic of ADbuzz™ works in two steps. Considering the anatomy of a display/banner ad, the first step utilizes Gen AI to generate its two essential components which are 1) the message or offer and 2) the visual illustration that best portrays the selected loan or deposit financial product being promoted to the defined audience. These are then assembled by the software in a second step with other ad elements including size, background, and call-to-action composing the complete, usable ad in mere minutes. Early results of ads created entirely with ADbuzz™ can be viewed at www.deeptarget.com/adbuzz-gallery. “We are thrilled to introduce our first Gen AI solution, ADbuzz™ to the Financial Services industry, demonstrating our continued investment focus on marketing tech innovation,” said Preetha Pulusani, CEO of DeepTarget. “ADbuzz™ provides a quick and easy way for bank and credit union clients to generate banner ads for use in such key channels as online and mobile banking. These high-quality display ads can be created at a fraction of their cost today. Gen AI has rapidly emerged as a creativity enabler and inspiration to streamline and elevate digital ads for FIs.” Used widely in all industries in online and mobile media, banner ads are designed to drive brand awareness, lead generation and sales while being a cost-efficient digital marketing medium. By taking advantage of the significant power of Gen AI, FIs can now receive these benefits while also saving time, money and resources in the design and development of display ads. With various applications of Gen AI in marketing such as content generation, insight generation, market segmentation, and personalization, its use is expected to increase exponentially with 90 percent of commercial leaders planning to adopt Gen AI solutions within the next two years. Limited early access to ADbuzz™ for clients and partners will be provided by invitation during this quarter. Interested financial institutions are requested to reach out to DeepTarget at info@deeptarget.com. Following an extensive needs assessment, which identified several opportunities for improvement related to their core processing environment, Pittsford Federal Credit Union ($516.7 million assets; 20,918 members; Pittsford, NY) selected the Corelation KeyStone solution to enhance their member service capabilities. “The core assessment team embraced the advanced technical capabilities of KeyStone represented in the user interface, modern programming approach, flexible structure, teller device support, single yet robust third-party interface, and extensive list of leading vendors that interface with KeyStone in addition to the active user community,” shared Dan Lazzaro, Information Systems Manager of Pittsford Federal Credit Union. Corelation's culture and reputation also played a significant role in Pittsford FCU's decision-making process as they were selecting a new core processor. “Our executive team placed a high value on Corelation's cultural fit, credit union focus, reputation and market appreciation, as well as the personable and 'down to earth' nature of the Corelation team,” said Lazzaro. “Credit Union team members are looking forward to working with the Corelatives and leveraging the functionality of the KeyStone system to streamline business processes, further enriching our efficient, world-class service to our membership.” Members of the Pittsford Federal Credit Union team are eager to collaborate with their Corelation counterparts and utilize the KeyStone system's features to enhance their business operations. Pittsford Federal Credit Union is scheduled to convert in November 2025. Adopting KeyStone will pave the way for greater integration with existing and new third-party vendors and will elevate their capacity to provide superior member service. “KeyStone is specifically crafted to provide our credit union partners with the flexibility and autonomy to select vendors that most closely align with their strategic objectives,” noted Corelation President Rob Landis. "Much like Pittsford Federal Credit Union's unwavering dedication to their members' financial success, Corelation is equally devoted to delivering top-tier core processing to sustain their long-term growth. Welcome, Pittsford FCU!" BankSocial® Announces proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union at North American Blockchain Summit11/17/2023 BankSocial®, in collaboration with industry partners and advisors, today announces the proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union — the first digital native, self-custody credit union powered by distributed ledger technology and the ethos of credit unions. Based in Texas and powered by BankSocial® open banking features, the proposed DEFY FCU has a mission to serve its members and the larger Web3 community across the world with financial services that have been difficult to provide in the past. Built with a backbone of not-for-profit financial cooperative relationships, the proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union takes advantage of new tools that can empower every domestic credit union for an open banking future. “As Vice Chair of the proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union board, I’m excited to help lead a movement where open banking forms our core,” said Michael Jackson. “Our mission is to empower member voices, driving our future collectively. We’re committed to a democratic approach in digital spaces, leveraging partnerships and distributed ledger technology to pioneer services beyond traditional banking. Our focus on transparency, security, and efficiency marks a new era in personal finance, one that empowers and innovates with our members.” The BankSocial® App is the heart of the proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union’s self-sovereign, open banking for all model. BankSocial® open banking products come together here to give members self-custody control of their money and digital assets, combined. BankSocial® Verifiied® is where trust and security meet. This powerful “Know Your Customer” verification tool provides confidence in all self-custody environments. Behind the scenes, a Real Time Payment solution allows payments using both standard payment rails and the Rivia stablecoin rUSD on the Hedera ledger, providing swift and secure fund transfers. BankSocial® Secura™ Decentralized Recovery (“DeRec”) is the evolution of self-custody key management and protection. Even experts have concerns about seed phrase security. With Secura™, each member’s key is divided into pieces and mathematically protected at trusted partner credit unions. No one but the customer ever has control of their keys. BankSocial collaborated with and built upon the transformational DeRec work of Dr. Leemon Baird of Swirlds Labs to create this unique solution. Dr. Baird explains how decentralized recovery works: “When you have enough “helpers”, your key — your secret — is shared among all of them in pieces. None of them can individually see your secret.” BankSocial®-affiliated credit unions are candidates to participate in decentralized key recovery. To learn more about the proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union and to show your support, visit defy.coop. |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
May 2024
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