MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — While cutting-edge banking transactions make life easier for members, the rub for IT departments is trying to marry multiple innovative solutions onto one platform.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the credit/debit card arena, Oct. 15, 2015, is D-Day. That's when card issuers will be held responsible for fraud-related charges for cards issued without an EMV chip.

The financial industry is working to make payments better, more efficient, simpler — and faster. Many Americans are particularly invested in efforts to achieve this last improvement.

While a number of credit unions employ sophisticated models and tools to help pinpoint the most relevant products for each individual member, many others rely more on experience and intuition, augmented by readily available data such as member demographics.

But reading CU Journal West Coast Correspondent Michael Bartlett's coverage of Earvin "Magic" Johnson's session at the California and Nevada CU Leagues' annual meetin, I was pleasantly surprised.

WASHINGTON — If people of different backgrounds and beliefs can come together to serve effectively on the board of a credit union, then members of both parties in Congress should be able to do the same.

The 26-year-old Brit has spent the last year crisscrossing the globe in an effort to build and promote The Cooperative Trust, the young CU professionals' group previously known as the "Crash Network."

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) became involved with credit unions for the most classic of credit union reasons: as a way to help those who were underserved by traditional financial service providers.

MADISON, Wis. — When a credit union's core contract is nearing renewal, the executive responsible for making this all-important decision is faced with one nagging question: Do we have the best solution on the market?

Credit unions make up a substantial number of the financial institutions that have enrolled with Apple Pay, and some unofficial lists suggest the majority of early uptake is coming from credit unions.

Mark McWatters, the newest board member of the National Credit Union Administration, said Thursday he thinks the agency should devote more resources to combatting what he termed "garden variety fraud at smaller credit unions."

A quick glimpse at credit union happening across the country.

MUNCIE, Ind. — Industrial Centre FCU here has rebranded itself as Thrive Credit Union.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NCUA is set to receive more than $17,000 in fines from 44 credit unions that have agreed to civil money penalties as a result of filing late second-quarter call reports.

A look at recent new hires, promotions, retirements and honors in the credit union movement.

LOS ANGELES — Credit unions may have found a powerful new ally in their long-running battle to increase their recognition by the general public.

In CU Journal’s much-anticipated annual project, credit unions from across the nation took pictures of what they were up to during a typical day in celebration of International Credit Union Week.

After opining about credit unions' growing compliance burden, California and Nevada CU League President/CEO Diana Dykstra said brighter days may finally be ahead, pointing to the newest member of the NCUA Board, Mark McWatters, with whom Dykstra and other league representatives recently met.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is honoring Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., for providing affordable housing and post-deployment assistance to military families and war veterans.

The GSE regulator's second attempt to stimulate the mortgage market is receiving a lukewarm reception from lenders, who remain gun-shy after being forced by Fannie and Freddie to repurchase billions of dollars in soured loans since 2008.