PHOENIX – Desert Schools FCU said yesterday it is partnering with the Arizona Saves campaign to provide free financial education seminars to the public. The seminars will be taught by members of Arizona Saves and the Desert Schools Community Development Team. The credit union, founded in 1939 by 15 school teachers, see the program as part of its educational mission.

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. – Credit Union Central Falls, the state’s biggest credit union, has changed its name to Navigant CU. The $1 billion credit union spells out its intention with a new multi-media marketing campaign with the tagline, “Someone to stand beside you, someone to guide you: Navigant Credit union. Enjoy Life’s Journey ” The credit union was founded in 1915 in the basement of a Central Falls church, under the name Credit Union de Notre Dame de Central Falls. The name was shortened in the 1920's to Credit Union Central Falls. The name Navigant is intended to evoke the personal of the Ocean State, without being tied to any specific place, and also the credit union’s open field of membership.

NEW YORK – CashEdge Inc. reported yesterday it has been awarded a patent for ‘Multiple Trust Modes for Handling Data,’ technology that allows credit union and bank customers to the degree of how their user information is stored. The company’s system allows online banking users to decide how they want their information collected or stored based on one of three user-selected modes: automatic, on-demand or manual, Automatic authorizes CashEdge to store credentials and log-in passwords independently of the customer. On-demand enable CashEdge to aggregate the information, but only access and update it when prompted by the user. Manual only stores the log-in ID, but not the password, which must be presented by the user at the beginning of each session. CashEdge provides online cash management systems for credit unions, including several corproate credit unions.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Dynamic Card Solutions said yesterday it has been granted a U.S. patent for its instant card issuing service, known as CardWizard. The patent covers CardWizard’s enterprise server component which powers all workstations and card machines at branch locations. The enterprise card server and card machine controller provide enhanced security and encryption of customer data. Dozens of credit unions have installed the company’s instant card issuing systems for Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. Among them are: Service CU, Tower FCU, Affinity Plus FCU, Mountain America FCU, Dallas Telco FCU and Desert Schools FCU.

Throughout 2007, the Credit Union Journal, in conjunction with ENCORE Card Services, are profiling the credit unions of each U.S. state and D.C. Rather than appear in alphabetical order, the states are being featured in the order they became states. For info: visit www.encore-ecs.coop.

New Board Installed At Tranax

If you're a Fiserv exec you can count on at least one of two comments being made to you by a credit union CEO: "Man, I wish I had gotten in on the ground floor with your stock," and "How long before you merge all those credit union business units."

BOSTON - Too much emphasis may be being placed on the stagnant membership growth at credit unions.

ONTARIO, Calif. - Credit unions frequently seek growth by looking to capture walletshare. And it's in that wallet, believes CO-OP Financial Services, where an underutilized opportunity lies: cards.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Data breach notification legislation described as "critical" by the California Credit Union League was approved by an 8-2 vote in the California Assembly Judiciary Committee.

CHATWORTH, Calif. - Personal FinanceWorks -the hybrid between Quicken personal finance software and online banking and the biggest news in years in online banking platforms-could turn any armchair Internet banking user into something of a financial savant.

CUPERTINO, Calif. - According to information technology giants Symantec and Intel, "virtualization" technology will play a large role in the financial services sector this year.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Location, location, location isn't just for real estate anymore: it can also be a primary driver of a CU's growth.

AUSTIN, Texas - CUNA Mutual Group recently opened its new customer operations center in Ft. Worth, and its CEO told attendees of the Texas CU League's annual meeting here the company is dedicated to helping credit unions grow-in the Lone Star State and across the country.

ROCHESTER, Minn. - NCUA has approved the conversion of former IBM employees credit union, Think FCU to mutual savings bank.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court last week reinforced a long-standing legal precedent in support of federal preemption of state banking laws for nationally (federally) chartered institutions.

BOSTON-Paul Lucas has done marketing and re-branding work for credit unions in 32 states and mailed the postcards to prove it. The former marketing guru of First Advantage CU boosted numbers there then formed his own company to do the same for other CUs. His take-no prisoners style of advice has an advantage in a world of spin consultants and skeptical CU boards. But Lucas gets results, so who can argue?

NEW ALBANY, Ind. - NCUA took under conservatorship Obelisk FCU, a $55-million credit union. The federal regulator would not give a reason for the takeover, but emphasized that service to the credit union's 13,800 members will continue uninterrupted. Obelisk FCU reported high net worth of 9% at year-end 2006, but had low net income, just $120,000, and a low return-on-average assets of 0.22% for the year. (c) 2007 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

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