The public hearing on the Consumer Data Security Bill (HB 797) was held yesterday in Montgomery at the Alabama State House. I attended the hearing along with approximately 30 other credit union representatives from across the state of Alabama. The hearing was initially going to be concluded with a vote among the committee members, but the vote has been delayed pending additional research and information.
It was a good show of support by the credit union industry. We of course were there on behalf of our member-owners who are the ones experiencing the data breaches from merchants and their transaction processors. This legislation is designed to protect the security of the consumer. Merchants and retailers are being asked to comply with security standards that they agreed to provide when they began accepting debit/credit cards as a form of payment.
A public hearing on this Consumer Data Security legislation in the Alabama Senate is also being held today. I was not able to attend the session today but I am confident that a strong credit union presence will be in place today in Montgomery as well.
We are not asking for member calls and contacts to state legislators at this time although that may be a request in the future. This Consumer Data Security legislation is important and necessary to provide accountability to those merchants and retailers who choose not to abide by accepted security measures.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Consumer Data Security Bill in Montgomery
Credit unions are supporting the Consumer Data Security Bill in the Alabama House of Representatives (HB 797) and in the Alabama State Senate (SB 545). Briefly, the bill does three things that are necessary to protect consumer data and to prevent the problems that we have seen in the past with other well publicized merchant breaches. The provisions of the bill are;
It requires an entity that experiences a breach to notify the individuals whose cards were compromised, as well as the financial institution that issued the exposed cards. Details of the breach would also be required. Alabama is one of 6 states without a notification requirement on the books.
It requires that any entity that accepts the information on a plastic card as part of a transaction, or the processing of a transaction, must comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards. This is the accepted standard agreed to by industry participants. One of the most important provisions of the standard is that it prohibits the storage of key data, such as that found on the magnetic stripe of a plastic card, after the transaction has been settled. This is the information that hackers have used to counterfeit debit cards and steal funds.
It provides that if an entity is not in compliance with the PCI Data Security Standards at the time of the breach, then the entity is liable to the financial institution for the cost of protecting the card-holder, including the cost of reissuing cards, notifying members, and any refunds to cardholder accounts that must be made due to fraudulent transactions.
PASSAGE OF THE CONSUMER DATA SECURITY BILL WILL HELP TO ENCOURAGE MERCHANTS AND RETAILERS TO PROTECT CONSUMER DATA IN A MANNER THAT SHOULD BE DONE ALREADY.
Earlier this year, North Alabama Educators Credit Union had to replace nearly 2,000 debit cards because of a national data breach involving Heartland Payment Systems. Several years ago, a local franchise chain had an employee stealing card data information and then stealing funds through the use of counterfeit cards using the stolen data. In both of these cases, the information was stored by the merchants in violation of the PCI Data Security Standards.
States Senators and House Representatives are being asked to support this legislation. A public hearing is currently scheduled this Wednesday (April 8th) in Montgomery on this bill. I will be there at this hearing and I look forward to sharing the outcome of this legislation. - Greg Olmsted.
It requires an entity that experiences a breach to notify the individuals whose cards were compromised, as well as the financial institution that issued the exposed cards. Details of the breach would also be required. Alabama is one of 6 states without a notification requirement on the books.
It requires that any entity that accepts the information on a plastic card as part of a transaction, or the processing of a transaction, must comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards. This is the accepted standard agreed to by industry participants. One of the most important provisions of the standard is that it prohibits the storage of key data, such as that found on the magnetic stripe of a plastic card, after the transaction has been settled. This is the information that hackers have used to counterfeit debit cards and steal funds.
It provides that if an entity is not in compliance with the PCI Data Security Standards at the time of the breach, then the entity is liable to the financial institution for the cost of protecting the card-holder, including the cost of reissuing cards, notifying members, and any refunds to cardholder accounts that must be made due to fraudulent transactions.
PASSAGE OF THE CONSUMER DATA SECURITY BILL WILL HELP TO ENCOURAGE MERCHANTS AND RETAILERS TO PROTECT CONSUMER DATA IN A MANNER THAT SHOULD BE DONE ALREADY.
Earlier this year, North Alabama Educators Credit Union had to replace nearly 2,000 debit cards because of a national data breach involving Heartland Payment Systems. Several years ago, a local franchise chain had an employee stealing card data information and then stealing funds through the use of counterfeit cards using the stolen data. In both of these cases, the information was stored by the merchants in violation of the PCI Data Security Standards.
States Senators and House Representatives are being asked to support this legislation. A public hearing is currently scheduled this Wednesday (April 8th) in Montgomery on this bill. I will be there at this hearing and I look forward to sharing the outcome of this legislation. - Greg Olmsted.
Monday, March 23, 2009
NCUA's Conservatorship of U.S. Central and Wescorp
Members may have seen or read that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has recently (March 20th) placed two corporate credit unions into conservatorship; U.S. Central Corporate Credit Union of Lenexa, Kansas and Western Corporate Credit Union (Wescorp) of San Dimas, California. These are wholesale credit unions, not credit unions that serve individual consumers. Corporate credit unions provide liquidity, investment, and payment services to credit unions that do serve consumers. North Alabama Educators Credit Union does not have a membership relationship in either of these two corporate credit unions.
What does the conservatorship of U.S. Central and Wescorp mean to North Alabama Educators Credit Union? In short, not much. It's business as usual for the credit union. Our service to the members of North Alabama Educators Credit Union is not impacted at all by the action of the NCUA. Keep in mind that all member deposits are federally insured by the NCUA to at least $250,000 per member. In addition to your accounts being federally insured, North Alabama Educators Credit Union is financially sound. Our current net worth is 8.20% which means that 8.20% of our total assets have been set aside in reserves to protect you, the member. Loan delinquencies remain very low at North Alabama Educators Credit Union. As of December 2008, the ratio of delinquent loans to total loans was only 0.31%, compared with an industry peer average of 1.46%. We have not experienced a single foreclosure during this entire "housing crisis".
Credit unions have been serving members for 100 years, in good times and bad. No credit union has ever cost the U.S. taxpayers anything. We will continue to operate safely. protecting your assets through conservative lending and investment choices.
If any members have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 256-534-2423 or by email: feedback@naecu.org . - Greg Olmsted.
What does the conservatorship of U.S. Central and Wescorp mean to North Alabama Educators Credit Union? In short, not much. It's business as usual for the credit union. Our service to the members of North Alabama Educators Credit Union is not impacted at all by the action of the NCUA. Keep in mind that all member deposits are federally insured by the NCUA to at least $250,000 per member. In addition to your accounts being federally insured, North Alabama Educators Credit Union is financially sound. Our current net worth is 8.20% which means that 8.20% of our total assets have been set aside in reserves to protect you, the member. Loan delinquencies remain very low at North Alabama Educators Credit Union. As of December 2008, the ratio of delinquent loans to total loans was only 0.31%, compared with an industry peer average of 1.46%. We have not experienced a single foreclosure during this entire "housing crisis".
Credit unions have been serving members for 100 years, in good times and bad. No credit union has ever cost the U.S. taxpayers anything. We will continue to operate safely. protecting your assets through conservative lending and investment choices.
If any members have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 256-534-2423 or by email: feedback@naecu.org . - Greg Olmsted.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Relay for Life
Mark your calendars for May 1-2, 2009. Relay for Life activities are taking place throughout the valley. If you have never attended one of the Relay for Life events, I encourage you to do so. It is a moving, emotional experience that honors cancer survivors and pays tribute to those lost to the disease. We participated in the event last year for the first time and look forward to the event this year. Statistically speaking, most people know of someone who has been touched by cancer.
The Huntsville Metro event will be held at John Hunt Park on May 1st beginning at 7:00 PM. Employees of North Alabama Educators Credit Union will be volunteering during the event. Look for our tent along the walking trail route and please stop by! We also encourage everyone to visit our Relay for Life page in advance of the event to help raise money for the cause. Here is a link to the credit union's Relay for Life page; http://main.acsevents.org/goto/naecu . (A link is also provided on the credit union home page).
The credit union has had several employees over the past few years who have experienced cancer first hand. We lost one of these employees to cancer. Please join us on May 1st as we honor our fallen friend but also celebrate the success of our cancer survivors.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Alabama PACT Program
It looks as if the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program administered by the Alabama State Treasurer's office is short of funds. The PACT website provides a chart of the program assets which reflect a considerable decline in the value of the plan assets. A letter was sent out to the 48,000 current PACT participants on March 13, 2009 which indicated that additional proposals are being reviewed to continue providing the plan to participants. Some of these families have been contributing funds to this PACT program for over 10 years. This is a terrible series of events that should be corrected by the State of Alabama. The State of Alabama actively promoted the PACT program and encouraged institutions like North Alabama Educators Credit Union to market the PACT program to our membership. They provided free brochures and statement inserts to promote the program. Now the State of Alabama says that the PACT program may not be able to provide the program benefits? Certainly our elected officials can do better.
Here is the PACT website address; http://www.treasury.alabama.gov/pact/ .
Here is the PACT website address; http://www.treasury.alabama.gov/pact/ .
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Cell Phones at Teller Windows
What did we do before we all had cell phones? Mobile communications are certainly more convenient than land line phones. Since cell phones are mobile though, calls can arrive at inconvenient times when other conversations or activity is taking place. Transacting financial business with a teller would be an inconvenient time for a cell phone call. The teller's job is to be friendly with the credit union member and post the member's transaction correctly. The teller may need to verify information and/or member instructions regarding the transaction. That is difficult to do with two conversations taking place at the same time.
The main problem however with cell phone calls during a teller transaction is the potential security problem. The teller line deals with cash. There have been cases in financial institution robberies where the robber utilizes a cell phone to communicate with a criminal accomplice who is outside of the institution. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recommends that cell phones not be allowed on a teller line as a result.
Please avoid cell phone calls when transacting business at one of our teller lines. Our employees have been instructed to discontinue the transaction until a cell phone call is terminated by the member. If you receive a cell phone call and need to take the call, simply step away from the teller line and complete your cell phone conversation. We certainly appreciate our membership and thank each and every one for their business. We are also responsible for protecting our employees and members from potential robberies. Please help the credit union in our security efforts by avoiding cell phone calls during teller transactions.
The main problem however with cell phone calls during a teller transaction is the potential security problem. The teller line deals with cash. There have been cases in financial institution robberies where the robber utilizes a cell phone to communicate with a criminal accomplice who is outside of the institution. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recommends that cell phones not be allowed on a teller line as a result.
Please avoid cell phone calls when transacting business at one of our teller lines. Our employees have been instructed to discontinue the transaction until a cell phone call is terminated by the member. If you receive a cell phone call and need to take the call, simply step away from the teller line and complete your cell phone conversation. We certainly appreciate our membership and thank each and every one for their business. We are also responsible for protecting our employees and members from potential robberies. Please help the credit union in our security efforts by avoiding cell phone calls during teller transactions.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Ready for the Weekend!
This week has certainly been turbulent on the stock market front. Economic data has not been very rosy as well. The latest unemployment figure was released earlier today, with 8.1% being provided as the latest number. You could also look at this and say that 91.9% of Americans are working. Look for the positives!
My advice for the weekend? Turn off the TV, turn off the radio, avoid the newspaper, cut off the cell phone, and by all means avoid the Internet. Spend time with your family and friends. Take a walk. Read a book. Be thankful for what you do have. Regardless of our situations, there are always blessings in our life.
Have a good weekend!
My advice for the weekend? Turn off the TV, turn off the radio, avoid the newspaper, cut off the cell phone, and by all means avoid the Internet. Spend time with your family and friends. Take a walk. Read a book. Be thankful for what you do have. Regardless of our situations, there are always blessings in our life.
Have a good weekend!
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