Visions - November 2007
Click a headline below to view articles:
PayLynx: 500,000 Happy Subscribers… And Counting
The secret is out.
PayLynxSM, the online bill payment service from PSCU Financial Services has passed the 500,000 subscriber milestone and now handles more than 2.6 million bill payments per month. As one of the credit union industry’s leading service providers, the cooperative demonstrates product leadership in several categories:
- First to offer FraudNet for bill payment fraud detection and
prevention
- Innovative marketing materials include an online video to build user acceptance.
- Greater percentage (68%) of active subscribers than industry average; and
- Higher rates of acceptance (78%) for electronic bill payment by billers than other providers of the CheckFree® service.
PSCU Financial Services has added an impressive 100,000 subscribers over the past 12 months thanks to product enhancements, innovative marketing tools and a dedicated team of skilled advisors. The PayLynx online bill payment solution addresses user needs with same day/next day payments, a single landing page with biller history and other time-saving features.
A dedicated team of advisors help credit unions identify growth
opportunities and design campaigns to address the specific needs of each membership. These efforts generate excellent results, as noted in
the CUSO’s record-setting activation rate. Washington State Employees Credit Union of Olympia, Wash., has 11,500 online bill payment subscribers and continues to gain hundreds of subscribers each month through promotional activities.
“PayLynx is an excellent product, but we must attribute a significant amount of our success to the efforts of the cooperative’s PayLynx staff,” said Kristina Walters, the credit union’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.
“These representatives have worked with our staff to develop targeted
promotions and design email campaigns that have posted 20-30 percent response rates. In short, the support has been phenomenal.”
PSCU Financial Services is launching a fully featured online bill payment solution for small businesses that is build upon the successful and proven PayLynx platform.
“We value PSCU Financial Services’ input to our product development
and enhancement process and the commitment to delivering the best payment solutions to the credit union industry,” said Ted Chaney, Director of Relationship Management, CheckFree Corporation.
Top
Product Marketing Kits 
Our success in helping credit unions launch and grow their Prepaid, Debit and ATM Card programs gave us the idea to share these valuable marketing tips, tactics, and best practices with our member credit unions. Contact your Account Executive or visit MemberConnect to get your Marketing Kits. Try them, you’ll love them.
Top
Mission: Post $500 Million in Outstandings in 2+ Years BECU On Track to Hit Stretch Goal
During a strategic planning session in January 2005, executives of BECU (formerly Boeing Employees Credit Union, Seattle, Washington) and PSCU Financial Services established an ambitious goal of nearly doubling the credit union’s credit card portfolio balances. The goal was to grow from $268 million to $500 million by the end of 2007.
At the time, BECU Credit Card Product Manager Nancy Davis wondered how they were going to achieve this goal. “We had a plain vanilla credit card portfolio and growth had been flat for years. Doubling our portfolio in 28 months seemed like quite a stretch.”
Based on hard work and strategically-driven promotions, the credit union has increased credit card outstandings to over $430 million and added 36,000 new accounts as of the end of September 2007. BECU Product Managers initially began to energize the portfolio in early 2004 when they implemented Risk Based Pricing. Then, BECU converted to PSCU Financial Services in September 2005 and retained the AdvisorsPlusTM consulting services team to work with their staff to design a series of targeted, regularly scheduled campaigns and to measure results.
“This impressive achievement demonstrates the power of partnership,” said David J. Serlo, President and CEO, PSCU Financial Services. “BECU was fully committed to investing in its credit portfolio and our AdvisorsPlus representatives provided valuable industry knowledge to maximize their efforts and help them achieve their goals.”
“The knowledge and experience of AdvisorsPlus representatives played an integral role in our success,” adds Davis. “They worked with us to design effective promotions and target the cardholders who are most likely to respond. In addition, their analysis and reporting is much more detailed than we would be able to accomplish on our own.”
BECU currently conducts three annual promotions: a post-holiday
balance transfer with transaction level processing (TLP) for the
convenience check mailing; a summer pre-approval offer with a promotional interest rate that uses TLP and a fall credit line increase that includes convenience checks.
BECU’s most recent balance transfer offer netted $25.1 million in transfers with a 8.44% response rate, while its summer acquisition campaign brought in $9 million and a 2.75% response rate, adds BECU Senior Product Manager Bob Stroup.
“Within the credit union, we have an excellent staff that is very experienced,” explains Stroup. “But AdvisorsPlus specialists offer additional industry knowledge and best practices training that we cannot expect from our in-house staff. These specialists make an excellent partner for achieving credit card growth for a credit union of any size.”
Top
Evolving New Account Entry
Tap into Evolve, our efficient graphical user interface (GUI) front-end application to our credit card data processing platform. Soon, users will have the flexibility to open accounts, process account transfers and create company card records via Evolve.
With Evolve, training is significantly shorter and users continue to report the benefit of substantial decreases in call times.
To learn more about Evolve, provided at no charge, contact your Account Executive.
Top
Organic Credit Card Growth: Just Add Water
PSCU Financial Services’ Organic Growth Program makes direct mail credit card marketing both effortless and affordable for member-owners. Our team of credit card marketing experts has worked with hundreds of credit unions to ‘water’ their portfolios with innovative promotional campaigns.
This fall, 1 million new account acquisition, account activation and credit line increase promotional pieces were mailed on behalf of 250 growth campaigns! Pre-developed marketing materials were formatted with the credit union’s logo and other personalized content.
Even the most successful credit card programs won’t grow without a comprehensive and continuous marketing program. Don’t miss the next opportunity to participate in the Organic Growth Program. Enrollment forms are due January 22, 2008.
Top
Holiday Joy with Gift Cards
This holiday shopping season millions of consumers will skip the crowded malls and simplify their shopping lists by giving gift cards. Don’t miss this opportunity… now is the time to crank up your credit union’s gift card marketing and we’re here to help. Eye-catching holiday-themed marketing materials to include posters, table tents, brochures, j-hook hangtags, lapel stickers and more are available at no charge at www.PSCU PrepaidMarketing.com for credit unions issuing gift cards through PSCU Financial Services. On-hold messaging, email templates and newsletter copy is also available to help with your gift card promotion. We are getting into the spirit, too. As our gift to each participating credit union PSCU Financial Services is providing Card Readers to speed up the branch point of sale purchase.
High Speed Marketing
Along with traditional promotional efforts, many member credit unions are deploying PSCU Financial Services’ newest turnkey online video which helps to educate prospective cardholders about the reloadable student, travel and general purpose card products. “We’ve been extremely pleased with the initial results of the video members are accessing from our website,” said Lisa Lambrecht, Vice President of Accounting, Entrust Federal Credit Union in Richmond, Virginia. “In the first month, a phenomenal 53% of those that viewed the video, clicked through to learn about the enrollment process.”
"Our reputation as a trusted provider continues to grow rapidly, said John Pembroke, Executive Director Marketing of Product Development, PSCU Financial Services. “More than 100 credit unions with nearly 175 prepaid programs are relying on our state-of-the-art gift and reloadable card programs, each branded by the individual credit union. We are delighted to welcome each of our new gift card issuers which includes most recently State Employees’ Credit Union, North Carolina, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, California and Mountain America Credit Union, Utah.”
To launch a gift card and/or reloadable program, contact Leslie Masaitis at 800-443-7728 extention 4719.
Top
Move over Baby Boomers,
Gen Y Comes with High Speed
Move over Baby Boomers. Way over. There are 79 million members of Generation Y, aged 12–30, heading at high speed toward financial services. To them, TV and newspapers are out, blogs are in. Podcasts and streaming online video are in. Email? No way. Replaced by instant and text messaging.
Wooing this influential generation on their own terms is the goal of ProjectNew Age, a large-scale initiative launched by PSCU Financial Services. In conjunction with this program, the cooperative has launched a new educational Web site, ProjectNewAge.com.
ProjectNewAge.com is a learning center for the “dos and don’ts” of marketing to Gen Y and provides information on this generation’s unique lifestyles, media consumption habits and brand and media preferences.
 “ProjectNewAge.com represents a significant investment in helping our member-owners build awareness with, and connect to, young adults,” said David J. Serlo, President and CEO, PSCU Financial Services. “We know how important it is that credit unions thoroughly understand this challenging segment. With Gen Y you have one chance to get it right, and ProjectNewAge.com was developed to help ensure just that.”
The Web site’s design reflects Gen Y preferences, with its fun, youthful layout and blogging function. It provides an array of outbound links to popular blogs and other social media Web sites focused on marketing to Gen Y and the media tools they utilize, such as blogs, social networking sites, social video sharing and viral communications.
“The ProjectNewAge.com blog will be updated weekly with new and
breaking information regarding Gen Y, social media, new Gen Y blogs to visit, Web 2.0, Gen Y marketing conferences, recommendations and more.” said John Pembroke, PSCU’s Executive Director of Marketing and Product Development. Also at ProjectNewAge.com, credit unions can learn how Gen Y’ers utilize social networks, such as MySpace, to connect with friends, share information and even develop affinities with financial institutions and other companies. Been considering a blog for your credit union? Thinking about producing a credit union video for YouTube? Find the details at ProjectNewAge.com. Getting to know Gen Y is only a mouse click away.
Top
DebitAdvantage Accounts
Our powerful DebitAdvantage™ program provides unmatched  processing options and risk management tools, access to top national and regional networks—along with the industry’s most compelling rewards program. Year over year growth reflects our expertise and market leadership.
Home Equity Cards Hit ‘Home Run’ for Alaska’s True North FCU
True North Federal Credit Union in Juneau, Alaska, has offered Home
Equity Line credit cards from PSCU Financial Services since 1995.
Initially the credit union adopted the HELOC to meet the needs of
Alaskans who often travel out of town to make large purchases, such a car or other big ticket items. More than a decade later, the world of financial services has changed dramatically but the Home Equity card continues to deliver a valuable member service, according to Lauren MacVay, the credit union’s CEO and President.
“The Home Equity card is an important part of our portfolio. Many of our members still use the card to fund a few major purchases such as
a car, college tuition or home improvements,” MacVay notes. “The card is very flexible because members can take a cash advance and use that money to pay for products or services that do not accept credit cards, including car dealerships and contractors.”
The credit union offers two tiers of interest rates—prime plus .5%
or prime plus 1.5%. The tier determination for the cardholder is based solely upon the loan to value rating. The credit union runs a TLP promotion in conjunction with its Home Equity card every spring.
“We offer a discounted interest rate for two years on cash advances or large purchases during this promotion. We extend this offer to both new and current cardholders,” she notes.
The credit union’s outstanding HELOC balance is $9 million with an impressive average balance of $30,000. The credit union’s classic and platinum cards total $6 million in outstandings and Visa platinum cardholders have an average balance of $5,550.
The Home Equity card has been extremely profitable over the years and the credit union has only written off $16,000 to date. Even with current fluctuations in real estate, MacVay explains that the credit union is protected. “We are seeing fairly stable home values in Alaska so far, but if the housing market in a city or region starts to drop significantly, we have adequate disclosures to protect the credit union.”
The card is also an attractive option to standard fixed rate cards in economic cycles with descending interest rates. The credit union converts many cardholders from the HELOC to fixed rate equity loans.
MacVay adds that the Home Equity Credit Card will have a place at True North Federal Credit Union for a long time. “It’s an excellent tool for any credit union’s home equity product portfolio,” she reports.
Top
Technology Links to Success
Deploying state-of-the-art technology is a critical component in our company’s ability to deliver on its mission of enabling our members’ success. Projects currently underway to be completed by year end 2007 include:
- Upgrading to a virtual storage solution which provides higher availability and improved response time in accessing all consumer and credit union facing applications.
- Moving to the Microsoft Network Application Suite of products to support unified communications and allowing for interoperability for simplified integration to other Microsoft solutions.
- CUNet an advanced, multi-protocol, frame relay
and VPN private data telecommunications network for connections to First Data’s credit and debit card platforms, is moving to network layer encryption to minimize credit union incurred encryption charges from third party data processors. The move will also speed up processing.
We are also excited about additional features and functionality coming soon to SafeLinkSM, our secure Internet-based file transmission
solution that provides file transmissions between your credit union and First Data using secure file transmission protocol (SFTP). Details will be released in early 2008.
Top
Get Big Results from Small Business
Online Bill Pay
In today’s competitive marketplace, optimizing relationships with small business owners makes good business sense. Small business owners
typically carry higher balances and utilize more banking services than the average retail member. Plus, they are more willing to pay for services and tend to be more loyal and profitable.
One tool that can help enhance service for small business owners is Small Business Bill Pay from PSCU Financial Services. It’s built upon CheckFree’s industry leading electronic bill payment platform, and includes additional bill pay, invoicing and receivables functionality that small businesses need.
“The advanced features of the cooperative’s Small Business Bill Pay
platform offer our small business owners both security and convenience and exhibits PSCU Financial Service’s strong industry commitment and focus on best practices,” said Celeste Auger, Product Manager, Member Business Services, Stanford Federal Credit Union, Palo Alto, California.
Stanford Federal Credit Union will pilot the new platform, which was
developed through extensive market research, focus groups and small business owner interviews. Credit unions can implement the Small
Business Bill Pay solution independent of their existing consumer bill
payment offering.
Small Business Bill Pay has the following features:
- Enhanced accounts payable functionality including
extended remittance
- Authority levels for security and auditing purposes
- E-bills; and
- Alerts and reminders.
Small business owners can establish different authority levels with restricted access to certain tasks so that the owner can delegate payment and invoicing roles while still maintaining complete control over the account. For additional security, audit trails for payments and invoices show actions taken by authorized users.
Accounts receivable functionality includes the ability to create and send invoices via e-mail. As an optional service in a future release, businesses will be able to receive electronic payments from their clients via a dedicated payment site co-branded with your financial institution.
For more information or to launch a small business bill pay solution, email us at esupportservices@pscufs.com or call Leslie Restrup at 800-621-7728 extension 2506.
Top
Beijing Olympics Just A Transaction Away
Capitalize on Visa’s long-time sponsorship of the US Olympic Team and the Olympic Games. The 2008 Olympic Games National Promotion is a chance for issuers to increase card usage, member preference and cardholder loyalty.
When cardholders use their Visa cards between February 1 and April 30, 2008, they will automatically be entered for a chance to win the ultimate Olympic experience – a seven-day, six-night trip for two to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. A complete suite of marketing
materials to include inserts, signage, sample direct mail and emarketing communications featuring a range of Gold Medal Athletes is available by visiting www.us.visaonline.com or calling 800-235-3580.
Top
Card Design Made Easy
Look no further than PSCU Financial Services to design your credit, debit, or ATM plastics. Our easy to use online Cardbuilder tool allows you to create a custom card design using one of nearly 100 stock designs or your own image, to meet your credit union’s market positioning needs.
Cardbuilder is just a click away. To use this free custom plastic design tool, log on to MemberConnect and follow the navigation from Product Resources to CreditAbility/Solutions/Plastics. Training is available on how to use this custom card design tool to help you get started.
Top
DataChoice™ Transforms Data into Decisions
What could be better than having instant access to the data you want, whenever you want it? That’s exactly what DataChoice™ from PSCU
Financial Services delivers for users of its CreditAbility™ portfolio. This comprehensive data analysis platform provides access to 7,000 data elements extracted from First Data file sources. Ad hoc queries are available through a secure browser-based interface from the cooperative’s secure MemberConnect web site. Credit or lending managers can either use time-saving templates or build their own queries. A DataChoice dashboard provides pre-constructed queries to monitor member activation, fraud trends, results of promotions and other factors. These dashboards are a combination of reports, charts, and graphs that share a common business purpose and allow users to drill down to extract additional details.
Managers can apply this data management tool to increase revenue opportunities by examining card usage, rewards accrual and redemptions, delinquencies, outstanding balances and other factors by selected cardholder characteristics. This data also equips managers to more efficiently manage income, credit lines and delinquency rates along with enhanced risk management for fraud activity.
“DataChoice is an excellent data mining tool that equips us to easily monitor balances, delinquencies and other factors by cardholder credit score, along with the results of our promotions and utilization of rewards points,” said Mary Ellen Millin, Loan Servicing Manager, Direct Federal Credit Union, Needham, Mass. “We use DataChoice to monitor our credit platform performance and create fully featured reports for our executives.”
Anheuser-Busch Employees Credit Union of St. Louis, Mo., is using DataChoice for a variety of purposes including examining monthly portfolio statistics, the success of recent promotions and identifying new accountholders who have not activated cards. “We are also using the data we collect to make decisions about our program, such as how risk-based pricing would affect earnings and the consequences of shortening the time frame for assessing late fees,” notes Virgil Mueller, the credit union’s Credit and Collections Manager. “The data from DataChoice allows us to accurately and easily evaluate
performance and platform strategies and is therefore significantly more useful than standard reporting.”
Specific data tables (along with samples of data elements) include:
- Account Table: reage date, annual charge, last post date
- Authorization Data Table: Decline reason code, POS entry code
- Bonus/Rewards Table: Bonus due to expire, YTD Bonus Earned
- Promotion Balance Table: Promotional balance, history promotion balance
- Posted Monetary Table: Merchant SIC/CAT code, transaction post date
Dashboards include: collections; cardholder account management;
debt management; card activation; marketing; portfolio control; portfolio key indicators pricing strategy; and fraud monitoring.
Top
Mark your calendars for April 16 – 18, 2008. That’s when PSCU Financial Services’ annual Member Forum is heading west to San Diego. We will be at the spectacular Loews Coronado Bay Resort and Spa celebrating a growing partnership with outstanding speakers, a wealth of break out ideas and a lot of fun.
Our speakers will inform, challenge and entertain all in a waterside, relaxing environment. Headliner Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary, will provide an intimate behind the scenes look at the 2008 presidential candidates and whether they have what it takes to lead our great nation in a time of challenge. All attendees will draw insight from Mike Abrashoff, former commander of the U.S.S. Benfold, who will share his progressive model of leadership and top-down change that took the worst performing ship in the fleet to the best ship in the navy. But there’s more. We’re shaking up the program with innovative presentations that will help participants grow their business.
We are shouting EUREKA! It’s a trip of discovery, and an experience which will return tremendous dividends to you and your credit union. A break out move in an exciting city. Online registration begins in mid-November. Start making your plans to attend today.
Top |
