Multi-Factor Authentication Launches for USERS' Credit Union Clients.$1.3 Billion Educational Employees Credit Union is First Client to go Live VALLEY FORGE Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill River, SE Pa., NW of Philadelphia. There, during the American Revolution, the main camp of the Continental Army was established (Dec., 1777–June, 1778) under the command of Gen. George Washington. , Pa. -- USERS Incorporated, a business unit of Fiserv Inc. (Nasdaq: FISV FISV Fiserv, Inc (stock symbol) ), announced that its new Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA See multifactor authentication. ) feature is now embedded in the company's Internet Banking suite, with one client live and several others slated to follow shortly. USERS added MFA technology to its Internet Banking suite to help credit unions reduce risk and comply with guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, or FFIEC, is a formal interagency body of the United States government empowered to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions by the Board of (FFIEC FFIEC Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council ) regarding member authentication. USERS' MFA feature was developed collaboratively by the seven core processors of the Fiserv Credit Union Group, employing risk-based authentication technology from RSA (1) (Rural Service Area) See MSA. (2) (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) A highly secure cryptography method by RSA Security, Inc., Bedford, MA (www.rsa.com), a division of EMC Corporation since 2006. It uses a two-part key. , The Security Division of EMC (1) (EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA, www.emc.com) The leading supplier of storage products for midrange computers and mainframes. Founded in 1979 by Richard J. Egan and Roger Marino, EMC has developed advanced storage and retrieval technologies for the world's largest companies. (formerly known as PassMark). Deploying a common solution across the group's processors resulted in very competitive pricing and rapid deployment for Fiserv credit unions. USERS' PCU PCU - PCI Configuration Utility Internet Banking now employs forensic and risk-based technology that authenticates a member's identity by automatically generating a profile of the member's PC and geo-location during log-in. The simplicity and convenience of this approach was critical for the $1.3 billion Educational Employees Credit Union of Fresno, Calif., which handles an average of 46,000 transactions and 1.5 million inquiries online each month. "This solution was appealing because it has minimal impact on our members," said Michelle Forster, e-commerce manager. "They will not have to load special software or carry a device to access their accounts. It's simple, but effective." The credit union evaluated other MFA approaches, such as tokens and password cards, but believed they might deter home banking use. "It was a balancing act between increasing security and preserving convenience," Forster said. "This approach won because it doesn't require much change to members' online habits." USERS' MFA feature provides members the assurance that they've reached the credit union's site and not a spoof site. "When they log in and see their PassMark and PassPhrase, members know they're on our legitimate home banking site," Forster said. A long-time user of the company's PCU Internet Banking, Educational Employees launched the MFA feature with its 49,000 home banking users in late October. More than 59 percent had enrolled in just the first two weeks, with only a small percentage contacting the credit union with questions. Forster credits an aggressive member communication campaign with helping to prepare the membership and minimize questions or concerns. MFA is the latest feature to be added to USERS' Internet Suite, used by more than 1.5 million credit union members. About USERS Inc. USERS Incorporated, a unit of Fiserv Inc., provides a wide range of systems and services to hundreds of credit unions throughout the continental United States United States territory, including the adjacent territorial waters, located within North America between Canada and Mexico. Also called CONUS. and Hawaii. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., USERS can be found on the Internet at www.users.com. About Fiserv Inc. Fiserv Inc. (Nasdaq: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and health benefits industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a specific business task, such as payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain its position in (BPO BPO Business Process Outsourcing BPO Benevolent & Protective Order (of Elks of the USA) BPO Benzoyl Peroxide BPO Business Process Optimization BPO Broker Price Opinions BPO Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra ), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 17,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. Fiserv Health provides health plan management, pharmacy benefits management and BPO services to the managed care market and self-funded commercial and government employers and health plans. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4 billion in total revenue for 2005. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com. |
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