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Fed government announced its offices in Washington,DC area will be closed Wed. due to bad weather--the third day in a row for such closings.
The Golden 1 CU, Sacramento, takes mega-banks to task with billboard ad campaign. Wed NN.
THe U.S. House Majority Leader has announced there are no votes expected in the House this week.
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The federal government is closed today due to continuing snow. CUNA's Washington office is closed. Its Madison, Wis., office remains open.
PULSE study: Surcharge-free access on the rise
HOUSTON (8/19/08)--Surcharge-free ATM access is becoming more popular among debit card issuers, according to the PULSE 2008 Debit Issuer Study.
Sixty-two financial institutions, including credit unions, participated in the study. The institutions issue a combined 74 million debit cards, or 28% of all U.S. debit cards.
About 56% of survey respondents said they participate in a surcharge-free ATM network. Also, 84% of credit union respondents offer surcharge-free service to their members for certain "off-us" transactions, or transactions conducted at ATMs owned by other organizations.
The study also indicated:
- ATM transaction activity is increasingly "on-us," which means that cardholders are using issuers' ATMs, limiting surcharges;
- Active debit cardholders conduct 3.4 transactions per month; and
- Heavy ATM users are also heavy debit card users, implying that cardholders do not use the "cash back" option often.
About 51% of respondents said they offer rewards programs, compared with 37% in 2006. Of those, 42% offer debit rewards programs, compared with 16% in 2006. Points-based rewards are the most common program type.
Prepaid cards are gaining popularity, the survey said. About 61% of respondents said they offer the cards, with 16% looking to offer the cards in the future.
The survey also addressed growth challenges, such as:
- Contactless cards--10% of respondents offer the cards, but only 24% of their cardholders use the technology. Key barriers to contactless adoption include merchant acceptance, unfavorable cost/benefit ratios and low demand;
- Mobile banking--15% of respondents support mobile banking, while 28% said they will offer it soon; and
- Mobile payments--56% of issuers said they are exploring the possibility of implementing this feature.
PULSE, an ATM/debit network, serves more than 4,500 financial institutions, including credit unions, nationwide.
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