Branch banking

Retail ATM provider Cardtronics Inc. has renewed its service agreement with Target Corp. as the exclusive provider of ATMs for the national retailer.

To understand this massive storm's impact, said Mississippi CU Association CEO Charles Elliott, "you must comprehend that people lost their past, their present and their future. For some, there was no evidence they ever existed."

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast, many credit unions in the area appear to have rebounded, having learned some painful lessons along the way.

A look at where credit union branches are being closed faster than they're being opened.

A look at where credit union branches are growing the fastest.

While banks have been backing away from branching, a recent study by SNL Financial that credit unions have been adding more new branches the last couple of years.

As mobile wallets and other high-tech payment mechanisms proliferate, they bring with them more options for security. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to use devices' built-in cameras to urge consumers to take self-portraits for authentication.

Avidia Bank of Hudson, Mass. has contracted payments technology company FIS to offer card-free ATM transactions through a mobile app.

The rise of mobile payments has had only a narrow impact on the use of cash, according to a new report from the ATM Industry Association and business strategy consulting firm Tremont Capital Group.

Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain's top two banks, said last month they'd start charging non-customers about 2 euros ($2.19) a time to use their ATMs, joining CaixaBank SA, the third-biggest bank, which began levying the fee in March.

NCR Corp. said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission doesn't intend to recommend enforcement action against the company over 2012 allegations of foreign business violations.

ATM operator Cardtronics and fuel retailer Sunoco have renewed their ATM services agreement, extending a 15-year relationship between the two companies.

Apriva and Globalcom Engineering will partner to provide EMV hardware to various U.S. markets with unattended payments acceptance devices.

Payment Alliance International, a Kentucky-based independent sales organization and ATM provider, has partnered with charitable fundraising firm Digital Processing Solutions to create a new "Digital Donations" program accessible through ATMs.

There's been a lot of talk about futuristic branches. Here's how two CUs have already implemented their own strategies to take their networks to the next generation.

CO-OP Shared Branch has overtaken Bank of America in number of branches, and now is the third-largest network of financial institution branches in the United States, according to data drawn from the FDIC.

ATM management company Dolphin Debit has placed large, drive-up ATMs at Murphy USA fuel stations, adjacent to Walmart stores, for credit unions in Mississippi and Texas.

First Bank in Wilmington, N.C., opened a new branch in Jacksonville, N.C., earlier this week, that was designed to be environmentally friendly.

Wells Fargo has partnered with NCR to deploy an outdoor, full-service ATM designed to provide consumers extra transaction options in nontraditional locales.

The number of branches at credit unions and banks has been surging for decades and presents some challenging problems for financial institutions as they face an ever-increasingly competitive landscape in the future.