CUNA, leagues unveil toll-free number for CU status
ORLANDO, Fla. (6/13/06)--Members seeking information about their credit unions affected by a hurricane, earthquake or other disaster or crisis will be able to call a toll-free number--1-877-CULOCATE--from anywhere in the country, as the result of a new program developed by CUNA and the state leagues.
The program-- the Credit Union National Emergency Information System--was announced today in Orlando at the CUNA 2006 Future Forum by Credit Union National Association (CUNA) President/ CEO Dan Mica.
"This program is another example of CUNA's commitment to ensuring that credit unions have the tools in their hands to deal with disasters, catastrophes and crises," Mica said. "This program is the direct result of the labors of the CUNA Disaster Preparedness Committee, chaired by Florida Credit Union League CEO Guy Hood, which is developing and introducing a series of tools and programs for credit unions to use to face crisis."
For example, on June 1--the start of the annual hurricane season--CUNA distributed a package of "disaster preparedness tools," aimed at assisting credit unions in dealing with the impact on their operations of storms and other disasters, to each one of the state leagues.
Using the toll-free number, the program allows credit union members to receive information about the status of a credit union affected by a crisis. Each credit union posts a message in its "information only" mailbox, which members can access by calling the 1-877-CULOCATE number, follow the prompts, and hear the status of their credit union.
More specifically, at the time of a disaster, the member dials 1-877-CULOCATE (1-877-285-6228). Once connected, the member hears a top-level message, prompting a selection for a specific state. Once the member selects their respective state, the system prompts for a spelling of the credit union's name, matching the spelling with the credit union names in its database. The system repeats the information back to the member.
Once the member recognizes the name of their credit union, the member selects the credit union, and the system provides that credit union's crisis message, including details of how to contact the credit union.
The system was developed and is maintained by VoiceGard, a CUNA Strategic Services alliance provider for telecommunications and recovery services. VoiceGard will test the service weekly to ensure availability and perform monthly audits to ensure the system remains operational.
CUNA will be providing more information about the 1-877-CULOCATE toll-free number to credit unions through the leagues in coming weeks.
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