PSCU Financial Services Debuts Visa Transaction Alerts
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Apr 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --PSCU Financial Services announced today that it is the first CUSO to offer credit unions and their members near-real-time1 alerts for Visa credit transactions. This is the newest tool offered by the cooperative to empower Visa credit cardholders to help identify potentially fraudulent account activity.
Alerts are delivered through Visa's transaction alerts platform and are usually sent within seconds of transaction authorization and can be delivered by email or SMS text. Members can elect to receive any or all of the following alerts: transaction declined; out of country or card-not-present transaction; gas station charges or transaction exceeding an amount set by the cardholder.
"We are fully committed to empowering our credit unions and their members with new technologies to reduce the risk of fraud. This new transaction alert service allows Visa credit cardholders to detect potential fraudulent use, providing credit union members more control over their accounts," said David J. Serlo, President, PSCU Financial Services.
Cardholders can enroll in the new transaction alert service from the credit union's web site. Credit unions can select the alerts that are available to cardholders as well as the method: email, SMS text or both. The transaction alert contains critical information such as purchase amount, time and date of the transaction, as well as information relating to the merchant, such as name and location. HTML email has additional branding options.
"Consumers want to play an active part in protecting and managing their financial accounts," said Jim McCarthy, Global Head of Product at Visa Inc. "Our collaboration with PSCU will bring the Visa's transaction alert service to credit union members throughout North America enabling them to better manage and track their spending while providing them with an early warning system for potential fraudulent activities."
Visa transaction alerts are sent on behalf of participating credit unions directly from VisaNet, Visa's global processing network, typically within seconds of a transaction occurring. Alerts are triggered when the transaction meets certain criteria the account holder has selected and are delivered directly to the account holder via email, SMS text message or the Visa Mobile application. Visa's transaction alerts let consumers monitor their accounts for unusual activity and take immediate action if they believe a potentially fraudulent transaction is taking place.
PSCU Financial Services is the credit union industry's leader in data protection. The cooperative offers advanced fraud detection and prevention measures, including its Falcon fraud detection system and 24/7 card monitoring by a specially trained security staff. These activities deliver a fraud-to-sales ratio for member-owners that is lower than the industry average.
About PSCU Financial Services
Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, PSCU Financial Services is the nation's largest credit union service organization (CUSO) and serves more than 1,500 financial institutions nationwide. As a non-profit cooperative, the company is owned by more than 640 member credit unions representing over 14 million accounts and 1 million online bill payment subscribers. Its Contact Centers handle more than 17.4 million inquiries a year.
PSCU Financial Services offers 24/7 member support through four Contact Centers: its Eastern operations center in St. Petersburg, Fla.; a Western operations center based in Phoenix, Ariz.; and two call centers in Detroit, Mich. These Contact Centers perform member servicing and new member acquisition, cross-selling and automated lending solutions as well as support for debit/credit/prepaid cardholders and online bill payment subscribers.
Established in 1977, the company provides a broad array of cost-effective, high quality financial services that include credit, debit, ATM, prepaid, bill payment, electronic banking and contact center solutions. PSCU Financial Services uniquely offers its members a full range of processing options, any combination from full service to in-house pass through processing for credit, debit and ATM transactions. As a leader in the credit union movement, the company offers gateway access to national and regional networks. It also provides full function ATM terminal driving services. For more information, visit PSCU Financial Services' website at https://www.pscufs.com.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is the world's most advanced processing network--VisaNet--that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit https://www.corporate.visa.com.
1 Subject to wireless carrier's network coverage and other details
SOURCE: Visa Inc.
PSCU Financial Services, Inc.
Merry Pateuk, 800-932-7728
mpateuk@pscufs.com
or
CCS/PR, Inc.
Robette Brooks, 303-699-8861
rbrooks60@earthlink.net
or
Visa Inc.
Elvira Swanson, 415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com