Grand Rapids, MI “ July 26th, 2011
CU*Answers says that earlier this year it made some exciting changes to its Online Banking Community (OBC) and the login page to It™s Me 247 Online Banking.
The CUSO says that the changes were designed to provide members with a friendlier, easier to use login page while providing credit unions with more flexibility over what their members see. The Online Banking community, referred to as ‘OBC™ is part of the It™s Me 247 site that provides members with detailed information on what can be done in online banking. Unlike It™s Me 247 online help, the OBC describes the various services right on the screen and lets members know how to get started. The redesign of the site includes the addition of banner ads to the login page that can direct members to a number of places, including the credit union™s website, and comes with a default package of 4 generic messages. For credit unions participating with the CU*OverDrive marketing program, these ads are updated per package details.
Additional information about the OBC Redesign can be found at http://cuanswers.com/kitchen/obc2.php, while other enhancements for It™s Me 247 can be found at http://cuanswers.com/kitchen/im247_enhancements.php.
CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned provider of data processing services, has announced it will be implementing changes to It™s Me 247, and will no longer support access to the online banking platform via IE5 or IE6.
According to the CUSO, this decision was made due to the rapidly changing needs of the Internet, and Microsoft ending mainstream support for these versions, including the implementation of important security updates for these outdated browsers.
CU*Answers has said that effective Monday, October 4, these browsers will no longer be supported.
A series of recommendations have been made which stress the importance of credit unions communicating this change and alternative solutions available to their members (updating their browser to a supported version or downloading another supported browser such as Safari, Firefox, or Google Chrome). Additionally, the CUSO has offered to assist by either sending an electronic message (email/online banking) via Member Connect, a service provided by the Xtend CUSO, as well as placing an article on the Online Banking Community (OBC) page that members see when they login.
The CUSO says that It™s Me 247 already presents a message every time a member logs on with an out of date browser that encourages them to upgrade, and that the Online Banking Use Agreement presented to members states, “Your computer must have installed browser software which utilizes appropriate security protections.”
For more information about the sunset for IE5 and IE6 Access to It™s Me 247, view the Client News & Updates page at http://www.cuanswers.com/client.php.
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CU*Answers Web Services recently announced the launch of a new Best Practices Blog for the Ada, MI-based CUSO Development Company, LLC.
The private blog was created with the intention that clients and partners of CUSO Development Company may collaborate on opportunities and share ideas regarding best practices.
“The new blog was styled to look like CUSO Development Company™s existing website but was actually recreated on WordPress with SiteControl Management System,” stated Web Services Manager, David Damstra.
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CU*Answers, the West Michigan-based provider of data processing and technology solutions for credit unions, announced today that it has partnered with Messick & Weber P.C. to provide CU*BASE clients access to the CUSOLaw.com Knowledge Base.
CUSOLaw.com is the web presence for the Messick & Weber law firm, located in Media, Pennsylvania. Known for providing services to credit unions, CUSOs, and other third party service providers, the firm has gained industry recognition as a premier source for everything Credit Union, Collaboration, and CUSO-related. The Knowledge Base comprised by the firm represents 20+ years of educational material and counsel documents related to credit union and CUSO representation. Access to this information has been reserved for clients/ clients on retainer with the Messick & Weber firm.
According to CU*Answers, the partnership came to fruition after its Web Services team assisted with revamping the CUSOLaw.com website. Recognizing the alignment of strategic goals and values, the teams of Messick & Weber and CU*Answers came together in collaboration, a core belief shared by both sides.
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CU*Answers has recently announced that any of its clients are able to attend the Passageways powWOW, an Advanced User and Development Conference being held May 12th - May 13th, at a special rate of $200, which is $150 less than the standard registration rate.
CU*Answers provides Talent Source Portals via the Passageways P4 Portal solution, which allows credit unions to organize and structure the collective knowledge of its teams into discrete workgroups of information. This tool centralizes collaborative communication to increase productivity among staff as it makes needed information easily accessible. This information is hosted in CU*Answers SAS-70 certified datacenter and managed by WESCO Net professionals, eliminating worry about hardware or system security.
CU*Answers and Passageways have extended the discount rate to all CU*BASE clients, whether they are already Portal users, or interested in more information about the solution.
For more information, access: www.passageways.com/powwow_conference.php
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Xtend, Inc., a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based multi-owned cooperative CUSO, announced earlier this week that it has selected LIVECHAT Contact Center from European developer LIVECHAT Software for an upcoming web chat proof-of-concept project. During the selection process, Xtend evaluated several in-house and ASP chat solutions before deciding to move forward with the LIVECHAT enterprise solution. The CUSO plans to quickly deploy the LIVECHAT application to support its B2B service offerings, while at the same time working with its core data processing partner “ CU*Answers “ over the next several months to integrate LIVECHAT into an authenticated It™s Me 247 home banking B2C solution.
According to Xtend President Scott Collins, selecting the right partner proved more challenging than expected. “We have been providing B2B chat services for nearly a year, but we knew that providing B2C support, especially in an authenticated and secure environment like home banking, required us to buy versus build. From the onset, we preferred an enterprise solution because we felt we had more control, but most of the recognized industry players were an ASP deployment. In fact, when we first looked at LIVECHAT it did not have an enterprise solution either. By the time we re-engaged with them this fall their enterprise solution was already deployed in several European financial institutions. Over the next few months, our web services and home banking partners over at CU*Answers will put the LIVECHAT software and support team to the test so that we can move forward with confidence.”
Collins noted that several credit union clients were anxious to participate in the beta testing of the new web chat service and that the CUSO planned to be ready for this next by late winter or early spring.
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