CUNA Mutual Group and CO-OP Financial Services Join Forces
TO AUTOMATE CREDIT UNION CARD FRAUD CLAIMS

Expanded Service Eliminates Manual Card Fraud Claims Filing, Saving Time and Money

MADISON, Wis., and RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2009) – CO-OP Financial Services, the nation’s largest credit union service organization, is collaborating with CUNA Mutual Group, the leading provider of insurance for credit unions, on CUNA Mutual’s Claims Automation Service that eliminates the need to manually submit card fraud claims.

Record growth in plastic card use and expanding applications are causing credit unions to experience greater operating costs and tasks related to managing plastic card fraud. Due to the large number of data breaches, the incidence of fraud continues to grow at a rapid rate. According to a 2008 study by CyberSource, $4 billion in online revenues were lost to payment fraud last year.

“The partnership between CUNA Mutual and CO-OP is focused on helping our credit union customers overcome the time-consuming hassle of submitting card fraud claims,” said Connie Trudgeon, Vice President, Operations, for CO-OP. “In addition to operational efficiencies, this new service represents an advanced tool in the industry-wide fight against fraud. With better data, delivered faster, both organizations will be better positioned to identify fraud trends and activate fraud prevention programs earlier.”

CO-OP is the industry’s second debit dispute processor to partner with CUNA Mutual to offer this service, which will automatically and securely transmit fraud claims data from CO-OP’s data processing system to CUNA Mutual’s claims processing system. In addition to saving an estimated 15-20 minutes of administrative burden per claim, streamlining the data flow also helps eliminate misreporting caused by keying errors or missing data.

“Our Claims Automation Service was designed based on input from credit unions and their need to improve the administrative efficiency of their card programs,” said Chuck Cashman, Plastic Card Product Executive, CUNA Mutual. “This level of automation is unprecedented in the industry – enabling us to expedite the claims process for credit unions while improving the overall quality of their fraud analysis reports.”

Financial fraud is a growing, global concern. A 2009 survey by the Association of Financial Professionals found that 71 percent of organizations fell victim to attempted or actual payments fraud in 2008, with the largest percentage reporting check fraud, followed by automated clearinghouse debit and consumer credit/debit cards.

Credit unions who partner with both CO-OP and CUNA Mutual are now eligible to participate in the Claims Automation Service. Please contact CO-OP’s Business Development department at (800) 782-9042, ext. 7140 or claimsautomation@co-opfs.org to register.

About CO-OP Financial Services

Established in 1981 and located in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., CO-OP Financial Services provides the tools, counsel and leadership to help credit unions and their members prosper. Wholly owned by its credit union shareholders, CO-OP provides volume discounts on payments products and services that include ATM network access, debit processing, ATM processing, shared branching, check imaging and mobile payments.

With nearly 3,000 credit union members, 28,000 surcharge-free ATMs (including 9,000 deposit-taking), 3,500 shared branch locations (the largest number of branches of any network), 155 million-plus monthly transactions and 26 million cardholders, CO-OP Financial Services is the number No. 1 credit union electronic funds transfer (EFT) network and processor in the U.S. financial services industry. CO-OP Financial Services’ membership has access to 800,000 ATMs worldwide through links to NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, PULSE and Plus. For more information, go to: www.co-opfs.org.

About CUNA Mutual Group

CUNA Mutual Group is a leading provider of financial services to credit unions, their members and valued customers worldwide. With more than 70 years of market commitment, CUNA Mutual’s vision is unwavering: to be a trusted business partner who delivers service excellence and customer-focused, best-in-class products and market-driven innovation. More information on the company is available on the company’s Web site at www.cunamutual.com.

CUNA Mutual’s Plastic Card insurance policy is underwritten by CUMIS Insurance Society, Inc., a member of CUNA Mutual Group.

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