NEW YORK-American Express Co. is making its boldest move yet in the prepaid market by introducing a reloadable card that carries almost no fees.

AUSTIN, Tex.-A+ FCU here has selected a group of local entrepreneurs as part of its "myBusiness" challenge, providing $150,000 in interest-free loans to the winners as a way to get the word out that the CU has money to lend for business loans.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-From using small-town printers to managing the budget like a "hawk," one person shared advice for small credit unions on getting the most out of their marketing dollars.

WASHINGTON-With regulators struggling to decide which loans to excuse from risk-retention, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the best option would have been to shelve the exemption altogether.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart Stores Inc., the nonbank that banks and credit unions love to hate — and fear — is at it again. The retailer is rolling out automated versions of its MoneyCenter offices, which provide a range of financial services to shoppers.

NEW ORLEANS-Walmart Stores Inc. is beginning to roll out automated MoneyCenters next week. The "MoneyCenter in a box" concept will feature ATM-like machines positioned in stores that don't have full MoneyCenters, said Jane Thompson, the outgoing president of Walmart's financial services unit.

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Bling Nation, the mobile payments and loyalty company, has shut down its service in a move it insists is only temporary.

CHATSWORTH, Calif.-Business Partners, LLC has created an online marketplace named BP Connect designed to connect sellers with buyers of loans.

LOS ANGELES-Law enforcement agents believe hundreds of thousands of dollars being withdrawn from ATMs in California are related to the data breach announced recently by Michaels Stores.

ONTARIO, Calif. - Financial Service Centers Cooperative said Friday it paid its owners a patronage dividend of $1 million, $200,000 of it in cash and the remainder as a written notice of allocation.

Gwinett FCU Celebrates 50 Years

PADUCAH, Ky.-I.B.E.W. Local 816 FCU has signed with Banker's Academy for an additional three years of online compliance training for employees.

Red Sox Star Goes To Bat For CU

POTTSVILLE, Penn.-A former employee at Hidden River CU last week pleaded guilty to stealing more than $58,000 from the credit union.

Mortgage Broker Guilty In $4.6 Million Fraud

Credit unions like to think of themselves as Main Street institutions, but seldom give thought to how Main Street itself has morphed and evolved, much of it often painful.

Hope and optimism: That should be the outlook for CUs today. We are the best option for consumers, and that drives everything that we do.

Now that NCUA has said it has no objections to some corporates moving forward with plans to raise new capital, it is also is a good time to look back at how and why corporates came to be, as much of their good work is simply taken for granted.

Pentegra Retirement Services

LA SALLE, Ill. – A former branch manager at Nickleoid Employees CU was sentenced last week to 60 days in the county jail and four years probation for embezzling $164,000 from the credit union to pay for her gambling by adding numbers to her already approved home equity loan.