SAINT PAUL, Minn.-Paper remains pervasive at Affinity Plus FCU here, despite 10 years of electronic content management at the $2.3-billion CU, observed Keith Malbrue, COO.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.-ORNL FCU here is unleashing the power of its core processing system by inviting the credit union's business experts into the backroom with IT.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.-In previous years, ORNL FCU here was too busy "growing like gangbusters" to take advantage of core system upgrades, said Michael McKnight, VP and CTO. "We were busy with the day-to-day and always playing catch-up with software enhancements."

TOLEDO, Ohio-A good IT manager knows the credit union's systems inside and out-and "that scares the living daylights out of me," admits Rick Haas, CEO at $45-million ProMedica FCU here.

TOLEDO, Ohio-Employees at ProMedica FCU here like to use Facebook on business computers during breaks, which is worrisome because social media sites are a haven for hackers, said Rick Haas, CEO. But Haas said he has found a way around the threat.

DAVENPORT, Iowa-Tellers Stephanie Holmes and Emily Wilson at The Family CU here surely turn heads. They wear fuchsia t-shirts emblazoned with curious barcodes.

LAKE JACKSON, Texas-No cobwebs on the mobile banking applications at Texas Dow Employees CU (TDECU) here. Members get real-time rates on their Android and Apple devices. Marketing can instantly flash up-to-the-minute new banner ads. No waiting for a vendor or application carrier to deliver the content.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-The computer network runs at breakneck speed at Charlotte Metro Credit Union here: 100 employees across seven branches can work quickly even while application and file data are backed-up in real time to the disaster recovery site.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-David Cooper said he likes that his new WAN accelerator optimizes data at the network level rather than at the application level. In fact, the Silver Peak NX is the only major appliance on the market that works at the network level, said Cooper, VP-information systems, Charlotte Metro CU here.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-New WAN accelerators allow Charlotte Metro CU here to watch what employees are doing on the network, according to David Cooper, VP-information systems.

Gift and loyalty services company SparkBase LLC is using $3 million in new funding to hasten the development and deployment of its technology platform and mobile services, which includes a smartphone application that enables consumers to quickly enroll in merchant-loyalty programs.

Regions Financial Corp. may not be the only bank planning to buy back its credit card portfolio now that the worst of the recession’s damage is receding, according to one expert who tracks credit card portfolio sales.

The twin effects of lenders keeping a tight rein on credit card lines and consumers borrowing less with cards in April drove the average card-account default rate down to levels not seen since February 2009, according data Fitch Ratings released June 10.

U.S. Bancorp plans to begin issuing EMV chip credit cards that also include a tap-and-go payment function to its customers this month.

NEW ORLEANS–For all talk about how mobile technology can rapidly bring financial services to emerging markets, it has really only worked in a few countries so far, most notably Kenya and the Philippines. Much of mobile money’s success in Kenya can be attributed to the work of Michael Joseph, a strategic advisor to Safaricom, who discussed here on June 7 his experiences building a new financial infrastructure in that country.

U.S. Bancorp plans to begin issuing EMV chip credit cards that also include a tap-and-go payment function to U.S. customers this month.

NCO Group Inc., a Horsham, Pa.-based debt buyer and provider of business process outsourcing services, plans to hire approximately 400 employees to its Customer Management Contact Center in Rockford, Illinois. The hirings coincide with the program expansion for one of NCO's clients in the wireless telecommunications industry.

GARDENA, Calif. – Northrup Grumman FCU has selected Connect Financial Software Solutions to provide it with its consumer suite of Internet Banking and customization services.

Verification using India’s national biometric-identification system could provide a second level of authorization needed to secure card-present transactions initiated with magnetic stripe cards under a proposal outlined in a central bank working group report released June 2. It also may serve as an alternative to moving to EMV chip-and-PIN cards.

Bharti Airtel Telecom Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pan-African banking group Ecobank Transnational Inc. to provide mobile-banking services across Africa, the companies announced June 7.