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The following is an excerpt from Callahan's just released 2004
Credit Union Financial Yearbook. This is one of many articles in this year's
IT focused special report, which discusses technology and the importance of keeping
up with innovations in today's economic environment.
One of the most exciting Internet technologies gaining attention in the financial
services marketplace is member-initiated funds transfers between financial institutions.
These Account-to-Account (A2A) transfers typically use the ACH network and allow
members to use the credit union’s secure website to easily control the flow
of funds between their various financial relationships.
Patelco Credit Union, a $3.1 billion community chartered credit union in San
Francisco, launched their A2A service offering in October 2003. The credit union
uses a product solution developed by CashEdge that combines A2A transfer capabilities
with an account aggregation platform. This marriage of aggregation and A2A allows
members to more actively manage their full financial portfolio through a single
sign-on to Patelco’s home banking system.
Patelco chose to integrate account aggregation and A2A into its existing home
banking view. Members can choose to view as many accounts from other financial
institutions as they want to in addition to their Patelco accounts. All aggregated
accounts, including Patelco’s account information, are by default displayed
to the member when the member logs into home banking. The credit union’s goal
is to increase awareness and usage over time as members learn how to add other
accounts and realize the convenience of transferring online.
“This new online service strengthens the position of the credit union in our
members’ lives,” explains John Shields, SVP of e-Business at Patelco. “Not only
are we viewed very positively by our members for being a leading edge financial
institution offering a valuable service, but we also hope to see more substantial
relationships with the members who use A2A,” says Shields.
Since the technology was introduced in October 2003 over 4,500 members
have enrolled. Adoption and usage rates are growing steadily at double-digits
each month. The average transfer in December was just over $1,000 for the 900
transfers that occurred in the month. 541 transactions had been conducted in
the previous month.
