Debit Rewards Program Pays off for Novartis FCU

Credit Union’s Debit Cards Outperform Industry for Average Transaction Amount, Number of Active Account

St. Petersburg, FL, Oct. 11, 2006 – The debit card program at Novartis Federal Credit Union of East Hanover, N.J., has consistently outperformed the credit union industry due in large part to its popular rewards program. The credit union offers the fully featured CURewards™ program from PSCU Financial Services for its signature debit cards. It also offers PIN debit cards that do not carry rewards.

It’s easy for the credit union to measure its success: 63 percent of its signature debit accounts are active, compared to the industry average of 54 percent; and its average transaction of $63.01 surpasses the industry average by 50 percent.

“CURewards is a critical element in our top-performing DebitAdvantage program. It offers an excellent mix of travel and merchandise rewards that are easy to redeem, and the program generates income and increased member satisfaction and loyalty that more than pays for the cost of offering rewards,” said Charles Setteducato, Vice President, Novartis Federal Credit Union.

As part of the CURewards program, debit cardholders earn 1 point for every $5 in transactions. The program is continuously being updated with new features and currently offers a wide range of travel and brand name merchandise including high-end electronics and top-quality housewares. The rewards platform also allows cardholders to redeem points for credit union products and services, which simultaneously builds loyalty by deepening member relationships through the marketing of other credit union services.

“More than 200 credit unions representing 6 million debit accounts contract with our cooperative for processing services,” said Ron Silvia, Director, Debit Services, PSCU Financial Services. “Participation in Debit CURewards continues to grow as credit unions use our fully featured rewards program to differentiate their debit card offering and promote member loyalty, as well as greater activation and usage rates.”

About Novartis Federal Credit Union

Based in East Hanover, N.J., Novartis Federal Credit Union has $84 million in assets, 6,700 members and serves employees and family members of Novartis Pharmaceuticals and affiliates. For more information, please visit: www.novartisfcu.org.

About PSCU Financial Services

As a non-profit cooperative, PSCU Financial Services is owned by more than 500 member credit unions representing over 10 million cardholder accounts and more than 270,000 online bill payment subscribers. Its Contact Center services more than 10 million inquiries a year.

PSCU Financial Services maintains its headquarters and Eastern operations center in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company is also supported by a West Coast operations center based in Phoenix, Arizona. PSCU Financial Services is the nation's largest Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO).

Established in 1977, the company provides a broad array of cost-effective, high quality financial services that include credit, debit, ATM, prepaids, bill payment, lending and contact center solutions. PSCU Financial Services uniquely offers its members a full range of processing options, any combination from full service to in-house pass through processing for credit, debit and ATM transactions. As the leader in the credit union industry, the company offers gateway access to national and regional networks. It also provides full function ATM terminal driving services.

For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.pscufs.com.