Corporate Connection E-Magazine

Corporate Connection is our quarterly e-magazine that features information on our latest happenings and hottest services. If you want an insider look at what’s going on at Vizo Financial, Corporate Connection is a must-read! Check it out now!

I’m both thrilled and humbled to be able to write to you for the first time as the new president/CEO of Vizo Financial. It’s an honor to step into this role and be successor for David Brehmer, who I had the pleasure of working alongside for many years. In that time, I’ve seen your Corporate grow successfully from a financial standpoint and continue to remain a trusted partner for all credit unions. We truly appreciate the support over the years and are excited about doing more for our credit unions in the future.

My time in this role is only beginning, but I’m lucky to be leading Vizo Financial, which has built a legacy of service, trust and community impact. Most importantly, we pride ourselves in our professionalism, which is evident in our incredible staff. We have always said the greatest value of your ownership in Vizo Financial is in our people, and many of you already know we have a remarkable team of professionals that are always here, ready to help your credit union succeed.

As we embark on this journey together, I want to assure everyone that my commitment is to continue furthering your success. Believe me, we do not take this responsibility for granted. Our values and mission here at Vizo Financial remain the same, and I know they will continue to steer us toward a bright future filled with continued financial strength, innovation, education and cooperation.

As always, we can’t thank you enough for your ongoing trust and support and for being part of the Vizo Financial family. I look forward to seeing many of you over the next year, and I’m excited to continue working together!

Thank you,
Fred

As a reminder, you can get all the different event details on our Upcoming Events page. You’ll also want to check back throughout the year, as we may add events to this list. Perhaps consider bookmarking the page for easy access!

Now, without further ado…here’s the lineup for 2024:

Financial Strategies Workshops

March 13, 2024 – Hershey, Pa.
March 27, 2024 – Richmond, Va.
April 10, 2024 – Charlotte, N.C.
May 8, 2024 – Pittsburgh, Pa.

Risk Management Conference

April 24-25, 2024
The Hotel Hershey – Hershey, Pa.

Quarterly Tech Talks

March 20, 2024
June 19, 2024
September 18, 2024
December 11, 2024
Virtual Events

Annual Meeting

June 18, 2024
Virtual Event

Small Credit Union Workshop

August 6-7, 2024
Virtual Event

Financial Conference

September 11-13, 2024
The Omni Grove Park Inn – Asheville, N.C.

Payments Conference

November 5-6, 2024
Virtual Event

You may have heard the big news by now…in December, Vizo Financial gave back more than $3.8 million to capital members. And in addition to this giveback, which included a service usage credit and a higher rate on the Perpetual Contributed Capital (PCC) account, Vizo Financial also introduced the new Member Incentive Credit (MIC) program!

This rewards program is meant for credit unions that support the Corporate through capital investments and usage of our services. We consider it a MIC-dropping token of our appreciation for the many years of partnership and cooperation our capital members have shown us, and we hope you will too.

Now, let’s get to the details – how does the MIC program work? Well, the rewards come back to credit unions in the form of an additional dividend, which is based on how many products and services the credit union uses with the Corporate and its payments CUSO, MY CU Services.

Each year, based on our financial performance and with board approval, Vizo Financial will distribute a portion of earnings to each member based on their usage of key services such as ACH, official checks, electronic bill payment, domestic wires, member share drafts, image capture and safekeeping. The more key services used, the larger the dividend.

Want to know more about the program? Check out the full press release on the Press Releases page of our website. Then, enjoy the rewards!!

And, as always, THANK YOU for being members of the Corporate. You’re the reason we exist and the “why” behind our mission! Now, how’s that for a MIC-drop moment?

We’ve gone from fast payments, with ACH and debit/credit cards, to even faster payments, with things like P2P apps. But now, we’re entering an era that tops them all, with instant payments thanks to the newest rail, the FedNow^® Service.

The FedNow^® Service rail works by initiating and settling payments within seconds through a technology-driven, back-end process. It’s run through the Federal Reserve to provide safe and efficient instant payment services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That means both your business and individual members now have the opportunity to handle transactions instantaneously so that they go from sender to recipient in near real-time, making it, quite literally, a Timeless gift in the payments arena.

How to Access Instant Payments

When it comes to accessing instant payments, you don’t have to look far. In fact, your connection to the FedNow Service is right here…through Vizo Financial and MY CU Services! We’re certified to offer settlement for FedNow Service instant payments, as well as receiving capabilities through our payments service provider. As a correspondent, we can provide your credit union with a direct connection point to instant payments through the FedNow Service.

Settlement Services

If you’re looking for a way to settle instant payment transactions, our settlement services are the perfect fit. Here’s how they work and the advantages of working with Vizo Financial/MY CU Services:

We’ll take care of settling your instant payment transactions through the FedNow Service.
Postings and transaction information can be accessed via the EFT platform in Zephyr, our online member access network. Here, you will see itemized payments post to your settlement account or an instant payments subaccount with the Corporate.
We’ll perform 24/7 account monitoring on your behalf, giving you peace of mind and saving you time and resources.

Receive-Only Credit Transfers

This connectivity profile allows your credit union to receive instant payments from members. It’s a quick, multistep process that goes a little something like this:

Instant payment transactions will arrive at MY CU Services’ payments service provider from the Federal Reserve.
The sending payments service provider will then route the posting to the credit union’s core processor.
Postings will automatically occur via the core interface to MY CU Services’ payments service provider, then post to the member’s account with instant funds availability.

From individual transactions such as P2P and A2A, to business transactions like B2B and B2C, there are so many payment options available through the FedNow Service that will benefit from the convenience of instant processing. So convenient, in fact, that it’ll give both you and your members a Gold Rush of satisfaction.

The evolution of payments has seen a lot of wonderful innovations, but nothing is quite as intriguing and promising as instant payments. It really is the payment solution of our Wildest Dreams, and we want you to be part of this industry-changing journey.

So, credit unions, consider this your official welcome to the era of instant payments. NOW is the time to take your place in this revolutionary time and build your Reputation as a leader in modern payments.

We just have one question…are you Ready For It? If so, contact your corporate account manager at accountmanagers@vfccu.org or MY CU Services’ sales team at sales@mycuservices.com today!

Holiday Closings

Holiday Closing

Vizo Financial will be closed in observance of the following upcoming holiday:

Monthly Financials Now Available

2024 Notices & Reminders

While a new year has arrived, we have some tried-and-true reminders we want to share with you.

2024 Notices & Reminders

While a new year has arrived, we have some tried-and-true reminders we want to share with you. If you don’t mind, please take a few minutes to read the notices below, review your information and make any changes as necessary. It’ll put you in a good position to kick off 2024 with all your ducks in a row, so to speak!

Wire Limits

Your credit union’s wire limits can be a major risk exposure to financial losses. Having your wire limits set too high can expose your credit union to additional unnecessary losses in the event of a fraudulent transaction. Vizo Financial strongly recommends that credit unions periodically review their wire history to confirm their wire limits with the Corporate are set to realistic levels, and the new year is a perfect time to do that.

Say your credit union has a total daily wire limit of $300,000 but has not wired more than $100,000 in a day over the past year. It would be beneficial for your institution to consider reducing your daily wire limit to lower your exposure from the potential of $200,000 in fraudulent transactions. Your credit union should also review the individual limits of each staff member with wire access.

In addition, please review who at the credit union has wire access and delete any individuals who are no longer employed at the credit union or should no longer have wire permissions.

Authorized Signers

Now is the perfect time to review your authorized signers. These are the people who are permitted to sign documents on behalf of the credit union for corporate forms and agreements, as well as account closure requests. To determine who is an authorized signer for your credit union, please review your copy of the Corporate Signature Authorization Form. If you need a copy, please contact our member services department.

If you need to make any updates to your authorized signers, we ask that you please fill out a new Signature Authority Certification Form, which can be obtained from the Forms section in Zephyr, or from our member services department. The new form will override any existing forms. Please return the completed form via email at msr@vfccu.org.

Zephyr User Permissions

We recommend performing a quick review of the Zephyr user permissions you’ve put in place for your credit union team members. If there is the potential that staff will need to perform Zephyr-related functions that they don’t normally have to perform due to an emergency situation, it would be advisable to grant those staff members the permissions and access they’ll need in advance.

Please keep in mind that permission changes require dual authentication from two Zephyr administrators. If connectivity becomes a problem and two are not available, you may be unable to provide new permissions to your users when needed.

If that’s true, how would you feel about a core that has all of the following…

A solution that is made solely for credit unions and owned/operated by credit union organizations?
A nationwide user base of 350+ credit unions ranging in asset size from under $1 million to more than $1 billion?
A cost-conscious price tag that won’t be a drag on your bottom line?
A support system consisting of not one, not two, but THREE credit union organizations, including a corporate credit union and two CUSOs?
Access to an exclusive community of credit union core users, complete with special education, trainings, bundled services and opportunities for collaboration?

Does that sound like the new, exciting core solution you’re looking for in the new year? Then the CU*BASE system through CUaxis – the cooperative core community built on the partnership of Vizo Financial, MY CU Services and CU*Answers – might just be for you.

And if you need more convincing, consider these things about our core:

It was created with the cooperative model in mind. It’s a solution built by credit unions for credit unions, and no one drives our movement to engage, participate and win like we do.
Our commitment to reduce fees means a better price point for you. Data processing is a necessity, but it shouldn’t break the bank. Our board of directors recognizes this and has a stated goal to reduce data processing fees by offering free releases and updates, free APIs that integrate with any third-party, free education and access to a vested network of partners, as well as industry experts.
We place a lot of value in your analytics, so your data can speak for itself and provide the information you need to make decisions when it comes to lending, marketing, member relationships, financial growth and more.
You don’t have to wait to see how CU*BASE works – we already have a quick system demo for you to check out.

If you want to pursue a new core solution in the new year, look no further than CU*BASE through CUaxis! For more information, please contact your corporate account manager at accountmanagers@vfccu.org.

Regardless of your answers to these questions, the case for MFA is loud and clear: in a world where security is always at risk, more protection doesn’t hurt!

MFA is an additional layer of protection that requires users to have at least two factors of authentication to sign into their accounts — both personal and business. These methods are typically broken down into three factors:

Something you know — your password, PIN number, etc.
Something you have — a token, an ID or something that’s in your physical presence
Something you are - biometrics such as your face or fingerprint

With MFA, users can decide what factors to use when accessing their accounts. For example, they can choose to use a PIN and a security question even though both fall into the something you know factor. On the other hand, 2FA, or two factor authentication, requires users to use two different factors. This authentication typically uses the something you know and something you have factors to allow users to access their accounts. 2FA is a more secure form of MFA, but both MFA and 2FA further protect users’ accounts – banking, personal email, professional email, other professional systems, etc. — from bad actors looking to gain access.

You’ve probably used MFA before and may not have even realized it. When you swipe your debit card to purchase items or retrieve money from your ATM, the card is something you have and the PIN is something you know. And companies like Yahoo and Google have implemented 2FA as an option for their users to increase their account security. So, if you have a Yahoo or Google account, 2FA is already available to you as an option. Since it is already in use in most instances, there’s a case to be made here on why it’s important for credit unions to implement MFA or 2FA methods for employees to access credit union systems like core and email and for members to access their online banking. Consider these factors when determining whether or not MFA or 2FA should be a change your credit union implements:

Weak passwords – for your staff and your members – are common.
Bad actors are becoming more skilled at taking over accounts.
The higher your position is in a financial institution, the more likely you are to be targeted.
In some instances, it’s a regulatory requirement.

The truth of the matter is financial institutions are a target for bad actors because of the information that they hold. Without MFA or 2FA, your financial institution’s system security is only as strong as your weakest password. With these things in mind, perhaps MFA and 2FA present a case worth considering.

Plugged In

Latest Blog Posts, Podcast Episodes & Webinar Recordings:

Thank You New Users

Thank you to the credit unions and organizations that recently began using the following services...

Donating $20,000 to the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Turkish Cooperative Earthquake Relief Fund
Donating $10,000 to the National Credit Union Foundation’s CUAid disaster relief fund to help credit unions and their employees impacted by the Maui wildfires
Daffodil Days for the American Cancer Society
Financial reality fairs
10th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pa.
Stuffing eggs for The Hershey Company’s Annual Egg Scramble
Sponsoring the 50th Anniversary Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run
Volunteering to cook a meal at the Ronald McDonald House
Decorating Birthday Boxes and Sweet Cases for Foster Love
Painting foot braces for Hope Walks
Walk for Children’s to benefit Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
CMN Hospitals Telethon for Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pa.
Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) Day of Service
Volunteer day at Caitlin’s Smiles
Volunteer day at Love the Hill’s “Business Day Out” in Harrisburg, Pa.
Run to Victory event for Victory Junction in Randleman, N.C.
Day of Service to support various organizations
Launching our Empowerment Grants Program to help credit union foundations assist natural person credit unions in building financial literacy programs
CMN Hospitals Radiothon for Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham, N.C.

Get even more details on our 2023 community efforts from our press release, “Vizo Financial Reaches Local, National and International Communities in 2023,” which you can find on the Press Releases page of our website.

2024 ACH Rule Changes and Updates

Andi Crockett, product manager, EFT, Vizo Financial/MY CU Services
January 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET

It’s that time of year again…time to review the upcoming rule changes for ACH. Nacha Operating Rules need to be followed by all financial institutions that process ACH transactions. This webinar will provide the details your credit union needs to stay informed on the ACH payment requirements and remain in compliance with all the changes throughout 2024. Join Andi as she reviews current and upcoming Nacha Rules.

BSA/AML Basics Compliance Training

Cindy Hagan, VP, compliance and fraud risk, Vizo Financial
January 24 at 10:00 a.m. ET

The NCUA requires Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) training each year for credit union personnel. Fulfill this requirement by attending this webinar on the basics of BSA/AML. The cost for this session is $79.00 per registered attendee.

Food for Thought: Check Fraud

Kari Kronberg AAP, NCP, director of education, Macha/PAR
January 30 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Dealing with the big three of check issues – forgeries, alterations and counterfeit checks – are some of the most challenging situations a financial institution can encounter. These issues have a very narrow return window and no adjustment options. Does your financial institution understand your obligations and options when it comes to handling these complicated situations?

Credit Union Security: What Would You Do?

Mike Bechtel, information security engineer, Vizo Financial
February 13 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Bad news…there’s been a business email compromise at your credit union. In addition, one employee is reporting that they received a pop-up message about viruses on their computer and your CEO clicked an email link that, in hindsight, seems suspicious. No doubt about it, it’s a bad day for security at your credit union. But there’s no time to dwell on the negatives – it’s time to take action.

When these scary security situations arise, you have to have a plan of attack…or, rather, counterattack. That’s what this session, led by information security engineer, Mike Bechtel, is all about. Let’s analyze the steps you can take to address a variety of security issues that may befall your credit union.

Business Account Basics

Mike Smith, VP – senior business services officer, CU Business Group, LLC
February 27 at 10:00 a.m. ET

A business relationship with your credit union begins at account opening. In this session, we’ll discuss business entity types and the required documentation to open and maintain business accounts. We will also cover the importance of the Certificate of Beneficial Ownership, pertinent regulations for financial institutions and the types of information that are required to be collected. In addition, we will review the value of a business profile and how your credit union can utilize this information for sales opportunities.

A Tour in the World of International Wire Transfers

Andi Crockett, product manager, EFT, Vizo Financial/MY CU Services
Tarah Sweigart, payments risk analyst, Vizo Financial
March 21 at 10:00 a.m. ET

There are quite a few rails that payments can travel on these days — ACH, checks, cards, wires, real-time payments and the newly created FedNow^® Service rail. With your members utilizing multiple rails every day, it can be difficult to remember the processes, timelines, rules and regulations for each. Join Tarah Sweigart and Andi Crockett for this webinar to take a ride on the rails that include international wire transfers. From the operations side to the rules and regulations, Andi and Tarah are going to be your tour guides as they help you rediscover the world of international wire transfers.