CHICAGO – The Center for Financial Innovations announced this morning it has awarded the National Federation of Community CUs $530,000 to fund three partnerships between credit unions and nonprofit organizations to integrate credit union products into social services delivery for low-income and underserved consumers.

WEST JORDAN, Utah – Mountain America CU said it appointed Jared Johnstone, head of the credit union’s deposit programs, president of Mountain America Financial Services, the $3.5-billion credit union’s insurance CUSO.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Genisys CU here has upgraded its iPhone and Android apps to include mobile bill pay, brightness control and improvements to mobile deposit.

WAUSAU, Wis. – NCUA has approved an application from Connexus CU to acquire ICON CU in Boise, Idaho, creating a $665-million interstate credit union.

KEARNS, Utah – NCUA said it has approved the merger of Newspaper Employees FCU, a struggling, one-time $9-million credit union, into $142-million American United Family of Credit Unions, the latest in a growing list of newspaper credit unions being eliminated.

TUMWATER, Wash. – A classic local icon, the original Rainer Beer logo with the BIG RED R, will be featured on the newest debit card for O Bee CU, the one-time credit union for Olympia Brewery.

LAWTON, Okla. – An employee of a local security company this week pleaded guilty to stealing $850,000 from ATMs she was servicing, including $595,000 from cash machines at Fort Sill FCU.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU is partnering with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens to develop landscaping templates for SECU’s 235 branches using only North Carolina native plants.

NEW YORK – ACI Worldwide has agreed to acquire Official Payments, a provider of electronic bill payment services, for $109 million in cash.

LAS VEGAS – Credit unions should see the “opportunity in the challenge” offered by the new mortgage rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

LOS ANGELES – Visa and MasterCard yesterday won preliminary victory in a patent suit brought by SmartMetric over rights to technology used in processing EMV cards.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Santa Rosa became the latest city to adopt a deposit-local policy, with the City Council passing a resolution to place $1.25 million of city funds with five Sonoma County financial institutions, three of them credit unions.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Administration is expected to tap the Treasury Department for $1 billion to $1.5 billion to plug a budget shortfall, according to three people familiar with the agency's finances.

WASHINGTON -- Battered by defaults on loans it insures, the Federal Housing Administration is expected to tap the Treasury Department for $1 billion to $1.5 billion to plug a budget shortfall, according to three people familiar with the agency's finances.

A new study found that it could be time for CUs to change their attitude about "predatory" payday lenders. That's because payday lenders often charge less than 75% of what depository institutions do for a $100 cash loan.

LAS VEGAS – One Nevada CU this week launched three free services for members with a checking account, including Ca$h Perks, a merchant rewards program that delivers personalized coupons directly to members through online banking.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The former operations officer of Rivergate FCU was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for stealing $409,000 over seven years to help support her addiction to painkillers.

INDIANAPOLIS – Centra CU said it is now offering Fiserv’s SpotPay, a mobile payments solution for small businesses that enables merchants to accept card payments anywhere, anytime.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Department of Financial Institutions announced plans for tougher consumer compliance examinations for state chartered credit unions over $500 million in assets by separating them from regular safety and soundness exams, focusing solely on consumer and regulatory compliance, and providing a separate compliance rating and report for the credit union.

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. – Members of Pioneer CU have approved the merger of their $575-million credit union with Kimberly-based Capital CU, creating a $1.2-billion institution to be known as Capital Pioneer CU.