Bank tech-trends News
 

October 30 - November 3, 2006

• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Biometric Digest Highlights
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers

Hardware News

NeoScale Systems announced 4Gbit/sec. versions of its encryption appliance that can encrypt data on as many as five tape drives simultaneously. The company will be releasing two new versions of its CryptoStor Tape family of products: a Fibre Channel device - the CrypoStor Tape FC712 - and a SCSI device - the CryptoStor Tape SC702. Both appliances work with the company's existing CryptoStor KeyVault key management appliance for centralized backup and sharing of encryption keys, which can be either 128-bit or 256-bit AES.

Inovium Corporation has launched its RapiDeposit CP 3500 check and document scanner system, designed to enable small to medium size businesses to convert incoming paper checks to digital images for remote online deposit. The Check 21-compliant system can also be used for back-office conversion applications. Inovium has bundled the scanner, application software and fees associated with setup and underwriting, and is offering the system at a suggested end-user price of $699.

Lexmark announced a line of new laser printers - E series mono lasers and the C530 series of color printers – that it is calling "green machines." Lexmark claims that its new laser scanning units are smaller and more energy efficient than the traditional scanning units, with fewer moving parts that need to be powered. Prices for the new E series range from $200 - $600; while the color models range from $500 - $1000.

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ATMs/Kiosks

A new study from Retail Banking Research found that the number of ATMs worldwide has passed 1.5 million and is forecasted to reach two million by 2011. However, the worldwide ATM market is increasing at a gradually slowing pace, from 10% in 2001 to 6.5% in 2005. RBR forecasts that annual growth in the installed ATM base will continue to slow down to 3% by 2011. Somewhat surprisingly, Asia-Pacific is now the largest regional ATM market with 31% of the global total, having recently overtaken North America (29%). Finally, while the US and Japan will keep their positions as the two largest ATM markets, China is expected to move ahead of Brazil to become the third largest.

Mid-tier ATM manufacturer WRG Services is in growth mode: since January 2004, the company’s ATM shipments have increased 250 percent. In fact, the company set a record earlier this year when it shipped over 400 ATMs in one month. Going forward, it is targeting Canada and looking to work with banks in co-branding deals.

Coinstar, a leader in self-service coin counting, announced a new Coinstar Direct Coin Deposit service that will allow bank customers to electronically transfer coins into personal accounts, complemented with Coinstar's new Madison coin-counting kiosk specifically designed for retail financial institution branches. Enabled through First Data's STAR Network, Coinstar's Direct Coin Deposit service is expected to be available to banks in the first half of 2007. In action, customers simply pour their loose change into the Coinstar kiosk, swipe their bank-issued debit card, and enter their PIN number to have the value of the change deposited into their account. A voucher will be dispensed verifying the amount of the transaction. The process is completely self-service and no teller interaction is required. 

Looking to increase Brand Recognition and provide members with surcharge free ATMs?

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Our current CU partners include: AEDC, Beacon, Bronco, Carolina Collegiate, Educators, Freedom First, Food Lion Credit Association, Heritage Trust, Martinsville Dupont, NSWC, Old Hickory, Peoples Advantage, Southeast Financial and US Courthouse.

NMS also offers their ‘ATMs Made Easy’ Program for full service ATM management and placement services if you like the idea of having ATMs, but don’t want the hassle of day to day management and the associated costs for maintenance and unplanned expenses like triple DES.

For more information about the Branded Cash Program contact Bob Colabrese, EVP of Sales & Marketing at:

904-395-1147 or

bob.colabrese@GLXS.biz

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RSA Security has introduced a product that adds voice as a way for automated telephone banking services to identify users. The product combines Vocent technology, acquired through its purchase of PassMark, with a voiceprint engine from speech recognition specialist Nuance Communications. The product is designed to help fight telephone banking fraud - it generates a risk score by looking at the voiceprint as well as other parameters, such as the phone number and user behavior profiles.

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Cellular routers (AKA 3G routers) aggregate multiuser LAN (local area network) traffic and forward it over a cellular last-mile WAN (wide area network) connection. In such a configuration, the cellular data connection functions in place of a DSL, cable modem, dial-up, fractional T-1, ISDN or other access link. They can open up some possibilities for disaster recovery as they allow for entire networks to be connected through the router. However, the major US mobile network operators have strict rules about how their 3G data network services can be used. Find out more in the upcoming issue of BANK tech-trends - subscribe now. 

Sprint launched its first deployment of EV-DO Rev. A in San Diego, which is the first of 21 markets where Sprint will roll out EV-DO Revision A this year with coverage expected to reach more than 40 million people. Sprint Power Vision users in these markets should experience significantly faster average upload speeds of 300-400 kbps (compared with 50-70 kbps of current EV-DO networks). Average download speeds should also increase to 450–800 kbps from 400-700 kbps.

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Trusted Network Technologies, a provider of identity audit and access control solutions, recently performed a security survey of community financial institutions. They identified the top 6 IT security priorities of financial institutions: 

1. Intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems

2. Firewalls

3. Antivirus protection

4. Network and systems management

5. Security event management

6. Strong authentication

The US Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Board and the Secret Service issued their third collaborative report on the use and counterfeiting of US currency abroad - concluding that, of US notes in circulation abroad and at home, about one note in 10,000 is counterfeit. The report estimated that about $450 billion of the $760 billion in circulation as of December 2005 is held abroad. According to the report, Colombia registers first on the counterfeiting threat list. The report says that the Secret Service US Dollars Counterfeit Note Search website established in 1999, www.usdollars.usss.gov, has been extremely effective in aiding financial institutions, cash handlers, consumers, and law enforcement in tracking and identifying counterfeit notes.

Malicious remote control software continues to be one of the biggest threats to Windows PCs, according to a new Microsoft security report. More than 43,000 new variants of such insidious software were found in the first half of 2006, making them the most active category of malicious software, Microsoft said in a Security Intelligence Report. In June Microsoft also flagged zombies as the most prevalent threat to Windows PCs.

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Stay Tuned for Upcoming Leaders Roundtables! 

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Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has estimated that debit cards will account for almost 30% of banks’ demand deposit fee income by 2009. This figure would be roughly double today’s percentage. It is no wonder that more and more banks are looking to implement a debit card reward program. The lure is improved customer loyalty and higher card activation and usage rates. In action, some banks choose to offer cardholders the ability to earn 1 point for every $5 in signature transactions. These accumulated points can then be redeemed for everything from small gifts to lavish vacations, or they can choose to credit the reward points toward a lower rate on a car loan.

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According to the Boston-based research firm the Aite Group, online account openings can be a powerful tool. They cite the cost savings: $15 per account for a fully automated account opening versus $65 for a traditional in-person manually processed opening at a branch. Other advantages of online account openings include fewer processing errors, a faster capture of customer assets and increased 24/7 convenience to customers. However, they note that it is critical to ensure a quick and efficient account opening process - one that includes integrated product and service offerings and real-time funding of the accounts being opened.

Online banking adoption didn't grow last year anywhere near the rate it did in the previous two years, according to the latest Pew Internet and American Life Project survey. While security concerns such as phishing and identity theft have scared some people away, new research by Change Sciences Group suggests that online banking can be too difficult for first time users. Change Sciences points to the following issues that novices are likely to encounter:

- No clear starting point

- No clear starting point once you log in to your account for the first time

- Arcane terminology like "payee"

- Clunky transaction searching

- Lack of messages that will help you feel secure

- Lack of information that will help you take steps to ensure your security

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Internet Access

Managing a Microsoft Exchange server takes effort and experience. Guaranteeing security and unsolicited email control requires more resources than many small and even midsize organizations can muster affordably. Fortunately, if you would rather not buy the hardware and software necessary to host your own Exchange server in-house, there are many affordable options. We will cover some in the upcoming issue of BANK tech-trends - subscribe today.

Increasingly, cable multisystem operators (MSO) are investing in and targeting businesses to broaden their market and take competition with the phone companies beyond the residential market. For example, Cox Business Services is currently growing at 20% per year. Even with these gains, some analysts believe that the MSOs still have a long way to go to prove to businesses that they are every bit as capable as the major telecommunications companies.

More and more, actual fax machines are obsolete for small organizations. That is because of the plethora of broadband-Internet fax options in the market. For example, Net2Phone's CommCenter appears to Windows as just another printer; "printing" a document to this "printer" results in the document being faxed to a specified recipient. The software is free; the usage is quite reasonable.

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Call Centers

Common occupational illnesses associated with working in call centers include low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries. Quality and intelligent design in furniture and setup is important to helping prevent injury. Additionally, there must be support and training around how this equipment should be used as well as techniques and tips for preventing workplace injuries. Fortunately, furniture companies that specialize in call centers, such as Interior Concepts, can offer ergonomic accessory recommendations to help make the workstation more comfortable for each agent whenever a furniture purchase is made.

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