SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (5/24/13)--The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has released "Cash Lives," a video proclaiming that despite the proliferation of electronic payment, cash payments remain alive and strong.
 
"Reports of the death of cash have been greatly exaggerated," said Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA. "Watch 'Cash Lives' to find out why this idea is sheer nonsense. It's a punchy, red-hot video about what cash means to humanity even in this digital age."
 
The idea for the video was conceived by the group's ATM Cash Council, whose mission is to track global cash demand, circulation and use today, while protecting the freedom of the world's citizens to choose to use cash if they wish.
 
The theme of the video, which is posted on YouTube and other social media, is that cash lives on because it is fungible, a quality that has never been replicated by digital systems, as explained on the video by Stephen Dubner, author of the global business best-selling book "Freakonomics."
 
To watch the video, use the link.

DES MOINES, Iowa (5/23/13)--The Members Group (TMG) this week announced the addition of a card-portfolio data-analytics tool to its product suite.
 
Branded "Catalyst," the consumer intelligence solution is designed to help credit unions better monitor, learn from and adjust to the changing behaviors of their members.
 
"Data analytics is about working smarter, rather than harder," said TMG Director of Client Relations Dan Lozier. "With solutions like Catalyst, community financial institutions can get to the heart of their customers' needs and wants more quickly. Catalyst allows financial institutions to readily identify the strengths and weaknesses of their card portfolios so they know where to spend their time and which cardholders to target for increasing activation, usage and balances."
 
Developed in conjunction with TMG's strategic partner, IQR Consulting, Catalyst leverages a financial institution's own credit card-portfolio analytics to develop a better understanding of cardholders on an individual level. With "snapshot" and "trending" reports, financial institution executives don't have to dig through the data to understand how portfolios are performing. Rather, the reports allow management to quickly assess the health of the portfolio and take corrective action where needed, TMG said.
 
Catalyst connects card teams with TMG and IQR experts who review the reports and understand the portfolio. The conversations help credit unions make smart decisions about the member segments they target, TMG said.

MADISON, Wis. (5/23/13)--The Credit Union National Association announced topics for the CUNA Bank Secrecy Act Conference, Nov. 3-6 in Orlando, Fla. 
 
In partnership with the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisers, CUNA's BSA conference brings together Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance officers, state and federal examiners, industry experts and regulators for discussion, networking and education on BSA compliance issues.
 
The annual conference covers all of the BSA statutory and regulatory training requirements that compliance professionals need to comprehend and comply with the complex federal BSA law, CUNA said.
 
"When it comes to BSA compliance in today's environment of increased regulation, we don't want any of our attendees left guessing," said Tracy Blaske, CUNA instructional design manager. "With that in mind, we make sure this conference covers all the bases from law updates to interactive Suspicious Activity Report case studies."
 
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of Foreign Assets Control agencies will provide updates to attendees. State examiners and attorneys also attend.
 
Attendees earn the CUNA Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Specialist (BSACS) designation by successfully completing an on-site exam. For more information, use the link.

MADISON, Wis. (5/22/13)--The CUNA Leadership Institute, Nov. 3-8 in San Diego, will challenge attendees to rethink what it takes to oversee an organization while helping inspire personal leadership, the Credit Union National Association said. 
 
The new CUNA Leadership Institute will expose attendees to innovative approaches to leadership development through a curriculum specific to the needs and challenges of credit union leaders.
 
"It's one thing to be told how other business leaders have found success in their roles, but this institute is going to ask more of participants than taking notes and soaking up facts and ideas," stated Kevin Smith, CUNA director of volunteer education. "We'll challenge attendees to discover and develop new approaches to leadership, utilizing their individual strengths and personalities to cultivate innovation and fresh ideas at their credit unions."
 
Sessions will be led by thought leaders from within and outside the credit union movement. The institute curriculum will involve team-building events and after-dark challenge sessions.
 
Highlights of this first CUNA Leadership Institute include:

• Calculated strategic decision-making;
• Discerning worthwhile data amidst the clutter;
• Scenario planning and management-team preparedness;
• Disruptive thinking and innovation; and
• Attracting, harnessing and developing a talented staff.

To register for the CUNA Leadership Institute, use the link.

CARY, N.C.  (5/21/13)--Using predictive models built with software from business analytics provider SAS, CUNA Mutual Group, through its TruStage Insurance Agency, has revamped its customer contact strategy to provide more relevant, timely offers to credit union members.
 
CUNA Mutual and TruStage have achieved better customer satisfaction, increased revenue and reduced cost, SAS said.
 
Since 2006, CUNA Mutual has mined its databases with SAS to create internal reports. Now, using SAS Enterprise Guide as its primary predictive modeling tool, the insurer is embracing more advanced uses of the software.
 
"By leveraging advanced regression techniques, we successfully developed new models to help us determine a better strategy for targeting consumer prospects," said Simon Gao, CUNA Mutual vice president of consumer analytics. "Our results have been strong, both contributing to our organization's bottom line and enabling us to most efficiently reach the credit union members who most need the protection our products provide."
 
CUNA Mutual, through TruStage, uses SAS for other projects, such as developing forecasting models and automating scoring to identify the best prospects to target as most suited to cross selling opportunities. In addition, the team is visualizing data better with JMP desktop statistical discovery software from SAS.

MADISON, Wis. (5/20/13)--Several webinars with topics relevant to credit unions are scheduled for the next two weeks by various groups.
 
Among them:

• The National Federation for Community Development Credit Unions will host a free webinar, "Doing Well by Doing Good--Growth and Low Income Credit Unions," from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CT Tuesday.

• The Credit Union National Association is conducting a free webinar on the new "Don't Tax My Credit Union" campaign at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday.  The webinar will feature a legislative briefing on the tax situation facing credit unions, and information on the tools CUNA and state leagues are providing to help credit unions join the tax status fight. (See related News Now story, CUNA Tax Advocacy Webinar is Wednesday.)

• The Members Group, First Data and RAZR Marketing will host a free webinar, "Relationship Loyalty in a Social Media World," for financial institutions on at 1 p.m. CT Thursday. The hour-long event will share insight on changing consumer expectations and how cultural developments drive new innovations in financial institution loyalty programs.

• J. R. Bruno and Associates, a consulting firm to Small Business Administration (SBA) and member business lenders, will conduct a webinar on the advantages of SBA and member business lending on at 11 a.m. CT Thursday.

• The federation will host a free webinar, "Effective Loan Management," from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. CT on May 28.

SAN FRANCISCO (5/17/13)--Credit Union Magazine continues its coverage of FinovateSpring 2013, a two-day showcase of the innovations in financial and banking technology.
 

FinovateSpring 2013, held in San Francisco Tuesday and Wednesday, showcased 63 innovative financial services products, which were demonstrated to conference attendees. Credit Union Magazine Editor-in-Chief Steve Rodgers provided coverage of the conference. (Photo provided by CUNA)

Credit Union Magazine Editor-in-Chief Steve Rodgers attended the conference, watching 63 companies showcase the latest products in financial services. At the end of the event, participants voted on the Best Show presenters, who included:

• BehavioSec, for its new security layer based on user typing/swiping patterns;

• BillGuard, card charge dispute platform, BillGuard FI;

• Dwolla, FISync service to enable banks to originate real-time payments;

• iQuantifi, new financial planning and advice tools;

• MoneyDesktop, personal financial management platform and integrated "deals";

• Personal Capital, iPhone app and interbank funds transfer; and

• SoMoLend, person-to-person lending platform.

For further coverage of FinovateSpring 2013, use the link.