The data security breach impacting 40 million credit and debit cards at Target during the holiday shopping season boosts the wisdom of larger transaction fees charged by credit unions to retailers, CUNA Senior Vice President for Research and Policy Analysis Bill Hampel said Monday.

AMES, Iowa -- Ace Community CU, a $34 million CU here, has announced plans to merge into $389 million Community Choice CU, based in Johnston, Iowa.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has acquired financial analysis and credit risk management software provider Financial Tools.

CUNA wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency's new director to reverse course and clarify several actions set by his processor that the trade group fears could harm credit unions.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Managing credit unions in a rising interest-rate environment along with the pressure to write more consumer loans to offset falling mortgage lending will be key challenges to the credit union community this year, say top industry economists.

WASHINGTON -- The new year is less than a week old, but lawmakers are already rapidly running out of time if they want to forge ahead on key initiatives such as housing finance reform in 2014.

Following the lead of other retailers, the National Retail Federation filed an appeal Jan. 2 of a U.S. District Court ruling to approve the years-long class action against the card brands that resulted in a $5.7 billion swipe-fee settlement.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Shrinking refi business, falling debit swipe fees and banks ramping up card marketing have credit unions increasing their emphasis on their cards' portfolio.

In an exclusive interview with Credit Union Journal, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz outlined the agency's key initiatives for 2014, including proposed new capital rules that that will likely impact about 200 credit unions, due to the amount of risk on their books.

To help credit unions be more proactive in 2014, mobile imaging company Mitek looks at what's shaping consumer expectations and driving their mobile needs, offering a handful of mobile banking predictions for next year.

LAS VEGAS - The outlook for credit unions in 2014 is generally positive, according to industry insiders and analysts.

TAMPA, Fla. - Expect credit unions to pay greater attention to P2P, upgrade aging home banking systems, ramp up EMV migration timelines and increase credit card marketing and analytics in 2014.

MADISON, Wis. - Will 2014 be the year the rubber meets the road when it comes to mortgage rules and regulation? Jon Bundy, regulatory compliance manager for CUNA Mutual Group, thinks so.

WESTBURY, N.Y. - When it comes to technology, don't expect any game-changing innovations in the next year. Instead, credit unions should expect to see increasing functionalities within technologies that already exist, including an emphasis on self-service channels.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - As mobile wallets mature, so will attempts to use the technology to marry payments and marketing, according to Fiserv's Matt Wilcox.

Credit Union Journal publisher Frank J. Diekmann has a New Year's Resolution for America's credit unions: Take your own advice. It could be the single-biggest difference-maker in decades.

CUNA president and CEO Bill Cheney says that, despite Washington's ineffective reputation, he hopes his organization's efforts can make 2014 a year of quality improvements for credit unions and their 98 million members.

How can those charged with making business decisions for their cooperatives keep up with the swiftly-changing needs of their members? Simple — they ditch the gut, dig into the data.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama State Employees Credit Union has filed what appears to be the first class action lawsuit by a financial services company against Target Corp. over costs from the massive card security data breach.

A selection of images featuring credit unions' efforts in their communities.