TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Members Upgrade/Install Mobile AppSAN JOSE, Calif. Meriwest Credit Union reported that its members performed more than 2,500 downloads to upgrade or install a new version of the Meriwest Mobile Banking application on both the iPhone and Android platforms. The upgraded versions provide enhanced usability, more detail in transaction histories and access to built-in financial tools, the credit union said. Has art, Tek NAFCU Strebe.jpgCongress Explores Data BreachesWASHINGTON-Testifying before Congress, one credit union executive said data breaches are a serious problem for both consumers and businesses. Glenn Strebe, CEO of Air Academy FCU in Colorado Springs, Colo., who testified on behalf of NAFCU, said that credit unions and other financial institutions already safeguard data as required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and urged that similar measures be adopted for other entities that handle sensitive personal and financial data."GLBA has worked for financial institutions and should serve as a model for extending greater data protections to other entities," Strebe told the House Small Business Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology.Strebe added that there is no comprehensive regulatory structure for retailers, merchants, or others who collect or hold sensitive information.Strebe said that NAFCU supports new measures to prevent data breaches but wants a safe harbor for institutions that already comply with GLBA.Requiring such institutions to retool their systems would impose an unnecessary and undue burden and cost. Strebe highlighted AAFCU's extensive cyber security and data security measures in his testimony.While, by and large, credit unions have not been the source of significant data breaches, Strebe stated that it is often the credit union that bears the brunt of the breach, and he underscored that the Dodd-Frank debit interchange fee cap has exacerbated the problem for credit unions and other financial institutions, which use interchange fee income to help defray some of the costs of protecting data and repairing damages when they occur.Wescom ATMs Features 'Elizabeth'NORTH CANTON, Ohio-Wescom Credit Union now features an update to the animated greeter it has used at its ATMs since 2003.Created by Diebold, "Elizabeth" is the on-screen "hostess" who welcomes Wescom ATM users and provides visual interludes during ATM processing functions. Diebold managed the integration of Elizabeth while adding new Opteva® ATMs equipped with deposit automation technology to Wescom's fleet, the company said."In updating Elizabeth this year, Wescom refreshed her image as an animated figure to enable efficiency and consistency when developing new interlude screens," said Diebold, which is adding 20 new Opteva 760 deposit automation ATMs to Wescom's fleet.For info: www.diebold.com