TUKWILA, Wash. – Member Access Pacific, a provider of card processing and ATM services to credit unions, has signed an ATM-access agreement with MoneyPass ATM Network, a national, surcharge-free ATM network, the two companies announced yesterday.

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgage rate held steady this week, with the benchmark 30-year average flat at 6.24%, according to Freddie Mac.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The state Supreme Court turned away an appeal from Tucoemas FCU on a $1.2 million punitive damage award for a former employee claiming workplace discrimination, ending the challenge by the Visalia-based credit union.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new contract with NCUA's fledgling examiners union will add more than $2 million to the agency's budget next year and will push up pay for all NCUA employees by an average of 5%, NCUA said yesterday.

ERIE, Pa. – A member of Erie FCU was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he stole more than $130,000 by depositing checks drawn on fictitious or closed accounts, then wiring the money to a bank where he withdrew the funds.Dale Farr first deposited $13,475 in phony checks on Aug. 14, 2006, and withdrew the funds before the credit union realized the checks were drawn on closed accounts. A week later he deposited a phony check for $150,158 payable to himself, then wired $130,000 of it to his bank account.Farr was also indicted on charges he lied about receiving Army medals, including the Silver Star and Purple Heart, to get a military discount on the purchase of a car and get a Purple Heart on his license plat.

HOUSTON – Smart Financial CU said it has installed QAS’s QuickAdress address verification and cleansing software. The software helps credit unions collect and maintain accurate member information in their core processing systems so they can effectively communicate with their members.QuickAddress products confirm addresses against official postal authority records, improving overall data quality and reducing undeliverable mail. The system is a "front-end" solution that identifies and fixes address errors before they enter the database. The software automatically corrects and standardizes addresses during the data entry process, decreasing human error and increasing operational efficiency.QAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of credit bureau Experian.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Metrum Community CU opened a hew headquarters this week, just down the road from its old home.The grand opening included a magic show, face painting for kids and flue shots. The credit union held a drawing for a $500 six-month CD and also donated $5 to a locla charity for every new member signed at the new facility.The $35-million credit union was chartered in 1947 and has $40 million in assets and 5,100 members.

SAN ANTONIO – Digital Employees FCU is getting ready to roll out a new member business loan data processing system it helped develop.DCU currently manages its $280-million MBL portfolio with its own in-house system, according to Stephen Mackowitz, vice president commercial lending for the Marlborough, Mass., based credit union, who made the announcement at the CUNA Lending Council conference.The $4-billion credit union worked with XP Systems and nine other credit unions to develop a commercial loan system specifically for credit unions. DCU plans to go live with the new system on Dec. 1.

SAN ANTONIO – It will probably be some time before a 40-year mortgage, being piloted by some credit unions, is more accepted in the marketplace, according to one mortgage market expert.While some credit unions may be exploring the longer maturing home loans as an alternative to refinancing, there is not enough data in the market to determine the efficacy of the 40-year loans, said Amy Crews Cutts, a senuor economist for Freddie Mac, during CUNA’s Lending Council conference.“They’re not priced very well and there isn’t much volume, and there’s not enough volume because it’s not priced very well,” said the housing economist during a session on the effects of the subprime crisis on the mortgage market. “And until we get enough of them it’s not a viable product.”Two dozen credit unions have been piloting a 40-year mortgage for the past two years but the meltdown in the mortgage market has stymied the development of the product, as members move to more traditional home loans, like the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

SAN ANTONIO – There was a time, when payday lending was new for credit unions, that credit unions wanted to avoid the tarnish of the payday tag. But now they’re being told to embrace it.“Don’t shy away from the term ‘payday,’”said Kristin Van Schyndel, marketing director for Prospera CU and its award-winning GoodMoney payday loan program. All ads and marketing materials for the Wisconsin credit union’s program clearly define the product as a payday loan, she explained during the CUNA Lending Council conference.Langley FCU, which operates a successful payday program for its mainly military membership, also uses the payday loan moniker in its ads, said Barbara Elvington, shief operating officer for the credit union, based in Newport News, Va., home to one of the nation’s Navy bases.“You have to heavily advertise it and brand it,” said Elvington. And just as important, she emphasized, is to use the color of money in marketing campaigns. “It’s important that you use green in marketing and advertising materials,” she said, of the QuickCash product, a 14-day loan at 18% APR.The marketing campaign for Langley’s QuickCash, states “a smart alternative to payday lenders,” so members know it is a payday product,” said Elvington. Prospera’s ads have a picture of a $20 bill being torn in half, representing the lower costs of the product, compared to payday lenders.

MONETT, Mo. – Jack Henry & Associates said yesterday it is now offering credit unions and banks a mobile banking product called goDough.The product was developed internally and is a browser-based system. It is device and carrier independent, making it compatible with any web-enabled mobile phone, regardless of make or model, and will all mobile phone carriers.Jack Henry will also provide marketing resources to promote the product or its customers.

LAS VEGAS – Intervoice Inc. announced the addition of voice verification to its call center product.The company’s Intervoice Banking 4.0, introduced yesterday at the annual BAI Retail Delivery conference, adds a layer to the authentication process after successful PIN authorization: the voiceprint of a caller. The voiceprint is not a recording of the voice, but a set of measureable characteristics that uniquely identify a human voice.The Intervoice Banking 4.0 application integrates with many of the top bank core processors and with most call center and banking environments.

LAS VEGAS – Credit bureau Equifax Inc. introduced a paperless lending solution that allows financial institutions to close loans electronically yesterday at the BAI retail Delivery conference.The system will provide credit unions and banks with access to a new electronic signature and vaulting solution that Equifax has developed with Carleton, Inc. and eOriginal, Inc. The solution provides a complete process for origination, underwriting, closing, managing and selling loans electronically through Equifax's APPRO loan origination platform, a popular online lending system for credit unions.The system integrates APPRO with Carleton's SmartDocs solution and eOriginal's eCore advanced electronic vaulting.Electronic loan documents are created and signed using SmartDocs and an electronic signature pad. Documents are then deposited to the eCore vault, where they are securely maintained and managed. eCore provides approved access to facilitate easy organizing, reviewing and auditing of the loan package and ensures that documents maintain legal compliance.

LAS VEGAS – Heritage Family CU announced at the BAI Retail delivery Conference that it has deployed NCR’s end-to-end image processing at the ATM.The Rutland, Vt., credit union purchased five NCR Personas M Series 86 drive-up and through-the-wall ATMs with Intelligent Deposit capability for installation this month in its Rutland and Bennington branches. The units capture deposited check images for display on the screen and on the customer’s receipt.Heritage Family uses NCR’s ImageMark Passport technology and validation software to capture, verify and prepare a balanced image file for exchange with the Federal Reserve. ImageMark validation software enables the image transfer and includes sophisticated balancing and error-detection tools to help reduce back-office time, eliminate errors and flag questionable transactions for investigation.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – US Federal Credit Union has won the national Louise Herring Award for Philosophy In Action honoring credit unions for the demonstration and application of the people-helping-people philosophy of credit unions.USFCU was recognized for its work with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. As the first CU in the state of Minnesota to participate in VITA, USFCU has provided free tax preparation services to nearly 1,000 individuals totaling more than $1.1 million in tax refunds.In conjunction with its work with VITA, the credit union also offers short-term, interest-free refund anticipation loans to qualifying individuals and families.

HAVERHILL, Mass. – The cash-strapped Haverhill City Council voted Tuesday night to end the free rent in City Hall for the Haverhill Teachers CU and will start charging $500 a month in rent to the $14-million credit union.The three-year lease agreement calls for increases of $25 a month in each of the last two years, costing the credit union almost $19,000.The lease is part of a move by the city to earning revenues from institutions using city property for free. Last May, the Haverhill Fire Department CU agreed to buy the city armory, which it had been leasing for $1 a year, for $257,235. The city has also signed for-pay deals recently with other entities using municipal property.

QUITO, Ecuador – Carrol Beach, president of CO-OP Shared Branching, exclaimed “Exito” for “success” yesterday, as he deposited $20 into his account at Westerra CU in Denver through a teller at Cooprogreso CU, signaling the first international shared branching transaction.Then to emphasize the landmark, Laura Pizzarelli, senior vice president of CO-OP Shared Branching, withdrew $30 at the same Ecuador teller’s window form her account at Hudson Valley FCU, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.The transactions signaled the opening of the international network to Ecuadorians living and working in the U.S. Currently 13 Ecuadorian credit unions with 154 contact points will connect with almost 3,000 contact points at U.S. credit unions.The new network, called COONECTA, is a collaboration between the CO-OP Shared Branching, a subsidiary of CO-OP Financial Services, the World Council of CUs, Red Transaccional Coopertiva in Ecuador.

SAN DIEGO - Delegates of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues voted to move forward with a fourth year of the $6-million-plus public advocacy campaign at their annual meetings here yesterday.

SAN ANTONIO–AT&T has launched what it called an easy-to-use mobile banking platform that will enable consumers to view account balances and history, transfer funds and pay bills from their AT&T mobile handsets.

MILTON, Fla. – A former tax collector for Santa Rosa County FCU was convicted of stealing more than $100,000 through a scheme by which she kited checks between two credit unions.