MADISON, Wis. – Credit union professionals can discover tips to get the most out of automated clearing house (ACH) usage in the first of two recently released white papers from the CUNA Councils.

"ACH Payments: A Key Tool in Your Electronic Payments Toolbox," from the CUNA Operations, Sales, and Service Council, analyzes this important time- and money-saving tool for credit unions. The paper looks at how ACH works and how it has evolved, its benefits and pitfalls, and future innovations.

Additionally, it provides examples from credit unions that use ACH to originate and receive funds transfers. It illustrates how each of these credit unions approaches the process a little differently, and includes tips for successful usage.

A second white paper, "Differentiating Credit Unions by Asset Size: Key Financial Issues," examines the characteristics of credit union groups when asset size is the distinguishing variable. The paper, sponsored by the CUNA Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council, was authored by Dr. Harold Sollenberger and Andrew Stanecki from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.

Using trends from the past four years, the paper arranges credit unions into six asset size groups and draws comparisons. It then offers analysis on key issues, including: member growth, deposit growth, loans-to-deposits patterns, asset quality, capital, earnings, operating expenses, liquidity, and more.

CUNA Council members are entitled to complimentary copies of these white papers; non-members may purchase the white papers for a price of $50 per copy.
The papers are available online at www.cunacouncils.org; select the Cross-Council White Papers link located in the Tools and Resources drop-down menu. Choose the "OpSS" tab for the ACH paper or the "CFO" tab for the differentiating credit unions paper. From there, non-members should follow the non-member link to order.