Morgan Stanley Takes The PULSE Of CreditUnions

HOUSTON - (01/13/05) -- PULSE EFT Association announcedWednesday that its members approved the acquisition of the regionalelectronic funds transfer network to Morgan Stanley's DiscoverFinancial Services unit. Under terms of the deal, the 4,100 creditunion and bank owners of PULSE--about a third of them creditunions--will share in the $310 million acquisition price. Eachmember will be guaranteed a minimum of $5,000, with the restapportioned on the basis of usage of the network between January 1,2004 and June 30. Some of the bigger Texas credit unions that werein on the early stages of PULSE will receive millions of dollars,sources told The Credit Union Journal. The deal combines PULSE, oneof the biggest surviving independent ATM networks, with DiscoverNetwork and its four million merchant and cash accesslocations.