Technology News

Half Move To OpenXChange

WALLINGFORD, Conn.-Constitution Corporate Credit Union said that it and more than half of its membership have gone live with a new front-end account management system called OpenXchange. OpenXchange was developed in-house by SmartSource Solutions, Constitution's technology services CUSO, and works with a new core processing system named after the company that designed it-Open Solutions Inc. (OSI). "The OSI system will be located within Constitution's walls, allowing for tighter control of security and operations," CCCU said. "OpenXchange succeeds U.S. Central's Open Door system, providing more immediate and in- depth access to account information than its predecessor while retaining many of Open Door's more popular features."

OpenXchange provides CUs with access to a variety of current and historical data. Users can view current share, loan and certificate balances, as well as current transfers, and incoming or outgoing wire information.

Answering The Chicken Vs. Egg

FAIRFAX, Va.-FedComp, Inc., and CUNA Mutual Group's Financial Management Services (FMS) Department have expanded their alliance to include the marketing of CU Investment Manager (CUIM) software. " With asset growth there is a need for an accounting program that easily supports monthly accruals and accretions for investments ranging in sophistication from CDs to CMOs," the companies said.

"It's kind of a chicken and egg story," said John Ehman, VP, CMG-FMS. "Growing CUs need to diversify risk in their investments. You can't measure or manage risk without first-rate investment accounting. If you can't measure your risk your regulator and your board could say you have no business growing your CU. So what do you do first? Diversify or grow? With CUIM in place you can do both."

CUIM is supported by FMS staff-who also support ALM models CUPRO and Model Management.

For more info: 800-733-3266.

EFT Adapter Library Expanded

NEW YORK-qbt, a leader in real-time financial systems integration, said it has expanded its EFT adapter library to support the First Data, FiServ EFT/CNS Portland, and Instant Cash switch platforms. The interfaces to FiServ EFT/CNS Portland and Instant Cash were developed, certified, and installed in production by Open Solutions, Inc. The First Data interface was developed and certified by qbt. "Using MultiPoint, core data processors are able to process transactions from any EFT/ATM network switch platforms with one consistent interface to the core data processing system," the company reported. For info: www.qbt.com.

SEFCU Selects ULTRADATA

ALBANY, N.Y.-The $1-billion SEFCU has chosen Harland Financial Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of John H. Harland Co., and its ULTRADATA System suite of products. The new solution will drive the credit union's administrative offices, an operations center, 15 branches, a staff of more than 300, and a network of more than 40 proprietary ATMs. SEFCU will convert to the new system on June 1, 2004. "The additional functionality and comprehensiveness of systems integration is what led us to select ULTRADATA," said Michael Castellana, SEFCU's chief operating and financial officer. Harland said the Ultra-Exchange suite of products will assist SEFCU in implementing its integration strategy by enabling it to interface to virtually any application in the industry.

Wescom IDS, Chex In Deal

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.-Wescom IDS and Chex Systems, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of eFunds Corp., said they plan to integrate Wescom IDS' automated Membership Application product with ChexSystems' New AccountChex service, AccountChex Pluss service, and Qualifile, service. The combination, said the companies, will provide credit unions with an automated system process for enhanced membership verification prior to opening an account. "New account applications at credit unions depend upon ID verification through ChexSystems so it made perfect sense that this approval process be automated to provide credit union applicants benefits such as increased speed and accuracy," said Wescom IDS President Ann Marie Michael.

For info: www.wescomids

EFT Adapter Library Expanded

KENTWOOD, Mich.-CU*Answers, a CUSO that serves approximately 125 credit unions, has formed a strategic partnership with Fuze Digital Solutions to use the Fuze Q&A Suite internally and to re-sell Fuze MemberLink to its credit union customers. "By allowing CU*Answers to capture and reuse our corporate intelligence in a digital form, the Fuze product suite leverages our unique industry and product knowledge across our entire organization and with our clients. Our partnership with Fuze will help bring our client service and product offerings to the next level and to extend the affordable yet robust MemberLink to our credit union clients" said Randy Karnes, CEO of CU*Answers.

For more info: www.cuanswers.com.

750 Turn Out For XP Event

MOORPARK, Calif.-XP Systems reported that its 2003 Regional Technology Forums garnered record attendance from credit unions and business partners. Nearly 750 attendees participated in two annual Forums held in San Antonio, Texas and Tucson, Ariz., reported XP Systems, which is a unit of Fiserv, Inc. Leading the Forums' agenda were previews of the expanded products and services available with the company's XP2 system. New features such as the Product Selector, a new financial platform, and a lending subsystem with customizable workflows were previewed. Forum sessions and demonstrations also covered XP2 features already in place at credit unions, including a built-in contact management and cross-selling platform, and the use of the DB2 database for credit union reporting. Now installed at nearly 170 credit unions, XP2 is a comprehensive in-house system with Internet-based applications and an open, relational database, hosted on an IBM pSeries server.

For info: www.xpsystems.com.

Contact Mgmt. System Debuts

CARSON, Calif.-Document Systems, Inc., (DSI), a mortgage technology company that develops tools and processes for producing and completing compliant loan document packages, said it has released the first fully integrated mortgage customer contact management system specifically designed to meet the needs of loan officers. Called "LoanMagic," the company said it streamlines the tasks involved with acquiring leads, managing contacts and gathering all personal and credit information necessary to secure a loan. It provides loan officers with a tool to help them before, during and after the sale of a loan by enabling them to manage leads and client information, compare loans, create loan documents, schedule meetings, store financial information and transfer reports to clients and contacts.

For info: www.docmagic.com.

Web Compliance System Launched

TAMPA, Fla.-CastleGarde has launched a Website Compliance Assessment to assist credit unions in complying with federal regulations concerning web sites of financial institutions. CastleGarde said it will assess compliance with the Fair Housing Act, Truth in Savings, privacy, advertising, NCUA insurance disclosures, Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure, Electronic Funds Transfer, Consumer Leasing Act, Truth in Lending Act, Expedited Funds Availability Act, Interagency Statement on Retail Sales of Non-Deposit Investment Products, and the Child On-Line Privacy and Protection Act.

Separately, CastleGarde CEO Edward Francis addressed the Association of Credit Union Internal Auditors 2003 Region Six meeting. Among the issues covered by Francis in his remarks on safeguarding member information from hackers were types of attacks, what motivates a hacker, and the four worst security mistakes end-users make.

For more info: www.castlegarde.com.

ACCU Signs With Loss Control

PHOENIX-Loss Control Solutions (LCS), a provider of investigation case management systems, announced that Arizona Central Credit Union has signed an agreement to install LCS' flagship product, Investigation Case Management System (ICMS). The $400- million Arizona Central Credit Union serves 74,000 members and operates nine full-service branches throughout Arizona. The USA Patriot Act required all financial institutions to comply with government regulations aimed at protecting citizens and companies from terrorist and fraudulent activities. LCS said its ICMS helps credit unions consolidate and report fraudulent activity.

For more info: www.losscontrolsolutions.

Fiserv Teams Up With DCM

LAKE MARY, Fla.-Fiserv Lending Solutions, a business unit of Brookfield,Wis.-based Fiserv, Inc., has entered into a partnership with Dorado Corp., a provider of Demand Chain Management for home lending, to deliver end-to-end, web-services-based mortgage origination solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin work on integrating Dorado's ChannelMaster products and MOR Web Services platform with the UniFi PRO Mortgage and easyLENDER Mortgage loan origination and processing systems from Fiserv.

For info: www.fiserv.com.

Verity CU Selects OSI System

SEATTLE-The $270-million Verity Credit Union here has selected "e-Commerce Banker," the Internet Banking and Cash Management solution offered by the e-Solutions Group of Open Solutions, Inc. (OSI), Glastonbury, Conn. "e-Commerce Banker is a secure and scalable Web banking solution that offers a financial institution's business and retail customers convenient access to their account information and transaction initiation needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.," the company said. "Furthermore, business banking clients can use the strong cash management features of the solution to originate ACH transactions, initiate wire transfers, or manage positive pay files from any computer with Internet access."

For info: www.opensolutions.com.

Wealth Mngmt. With A Twist

MADISON, Wis.-Open Financial Solutions, Inc has introduced a new set of online financial management tools that combine financial education, planning and advice. "It's wealth management with a twist-a credit union twist," said CEO Rae Miles. "We began with wealth management tools that had been developed for the brokerage industry and transformed them into tools aimed at enhancing the member relationship."

GTE FCU, Tampa, Fla., was among the first to implement the new tools. Rich Helber, EVP/CFO of GTE FCU, said that during the first two weeks of offering the tools 2,200 members signed on to use them. "Most consumers don't have a financial plan of any type because they don't know where to begin or they're too embarrassed to admit how na ve they are about their own financial situation," said Helber.

Bellco Credit Union in Denver and Orange County Teachers FCU in Santa Ana, Calif. are also using the tools.

For info: 608-833-3388.

For the best in daily news updates online, visit The Credit Union Journal at www.cujournal.com.

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