BANK tech-trends News
 

August 10, 2009 - August 14, 2009

• 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

Unisys introduced a new model, the MicroEX, to the SmartSource Micro Series line of multi-function remote deposit scanners. The new MicroEX model is priced at $225 and is capable of imaging full page documents in addition to cards, receipts and checks. Unisys believes that the MicroEX is the lowest priced full page-enabled check scanner available today.

One challenge related to moving to an all virtual ESX-based server infrastructure lies in the realm of USB hardware support. Some servers simply have to be able to communicate with specific USB devices. One solution is the AnywhereUSB unit which is a network-based device with USB-over-IP capability that makes it possible for many USB-based devices to peacefully coexist. AnywhereUSB makes the network-connected USB device appear to be locally connected to the virtual server, but AnywhereUSB is useful in much more than just server virtualization scenarios.

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ATMs/Kiosks

Chinese ATM manufacturer GRG Banking is making a big push into the US market despite the difficult economy. They have struggled somewhat over the last few years to successfully penetrate the U.S., namely because the company never had a strong U.S. base. Here's their ATM lineup:

H22NL, lobby dispenser
H22N, through-the-wall dispenser
H38N, full-function through-the-wall
H38ND, through-the-wall drive-up
H38NL, full-function lobby dispenser
H46N, full-function island drive-up

GRG also has spearheaded an ATM-branding program called Ecocash, to promote GRG’s carbon neutral footprint.

ATM scam artists made a big mistake last week with the placement of one of their machines - they tried to hit the Defcon conference in Las Vegas that attracts more than 8,000 security professionals. Attendees quickly noticed that an ATM placed in the Riviera Hotel, which plays host to the annual event, didn't quite look right. The ATM looked like a working system, but when people would put their cards in the machine, it would scan their card information and record the PINs they entered, but come back with an error message. They had placed the machine in one of the few spots in the hotel where there was no security camera - right next to the hotel security entrance.

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Voice verification vendor Bay Talkitec says that the criteria that their voice ID system bases decisions on are created by the shape of the speaker’s mouth and throat, rather than more variable conditions. The company insists that because of the relative permanence of the characteristics it measures, the technology is not likely to be fooled by an attempt to disguise a voice, and is not generally affected by changes that can make a voice sound quite different to the human ear, such as a bad cold or extreme emotion.

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Visa payWave technology allows account holders to make purchases by waving their debit card past an electronic reader. U.S. Bank has launched pilot programs in Salt Lake City and Denver, under which they will instantly issue unembossed debit cards with Visa payWave technology to customers upon opening an account. They claim that their pilot programs mark the first time such technology has been incorporated with unembossed cards which, leveraging software and hardware from Dynamic Card Solutions, can be instantly personalized and issued to new account holders at branch locations.

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Top Ten Lists are popular not only with David Letterman but in the security world as well. For example, there is the OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Vulnerabilities list and the SANS Institute's Top 10 Vulnerabilities list, even though it has morphed into a Top 20 Vulnerabilities list. Some security experts like these lists because they serve to corral consensus about what the biggest problems are so that they can be addressed in a focused manner. They even argue that your bank needs a top 10 computer security problems list to help ensure that that your IT department is focusing the right amount of resources on the right problems. Building a top 10 computer security list for your bank starts with identifying and ranking threats based on the best metrics you have, with the goal then being to get everyone to affirm and focus on the biggest problems.

Some security experts believe that misconfigured firewalls are far too common problems for many organizations, and that firewall auditing and management tools are a good way to get a handle on firewall policies and to automate a traditionally laborious and error-prone process. They point to a newly released report by Forrester Research that shows that in most data breach investigations, misconfigured firewalls are found in the victimized network, as proof of their beliefs. Among the vendors in the firewall management market are AlgoSec, Athena Security, LogLogic, ManageEngine, Matasano Security, RedSeal Systems, Secure Passage, Skybox Security, and Tufin.

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Online & Mobile Banking:

Saving Costs and Increasing Marketshare

eEminder - http://www.eeminder.com   Read Thomas Utsch's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/eEminder.pdf

Fiserv - http://www.fiserv.com Read Dave Selina's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Fiserv_Selina.pdf

Fiserv - http://www.fiserv.com Read Steve Shaw's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Fiserv_Shaw.pdf

Harland Financial Solutions - http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com   Read Jeff Marshall's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/HFS.pdf

MShift - http://www.mshift.com Read Pamela Livingston's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/MShift.pdf

Syphr - http://www.syphronline.com Read Chris Langeley's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Syphr.pdf

TowerGroup - http://www.towergroup.com Read Charul Vyas' comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/TowerGroup.pdf

uMonitor - http://www.umonitor.com Read Dinesh Sheth's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/uMonitor.pdf

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Surado Solutions, a developer of CRM on-premise and on-demand solutions, has announced the summer release of Surado CRM Online – Professional Edition. The new version features updated e-mail marketing, knowledge management and reporting tools. Some of the key marketing features include over 400 professionally designed templates; the ability to create unlimited lists or contact groups; the ability to use data mining tools to create lists based on preferences, previous responses, active communication and/or inquiries from the Internet, and the ability to integrate contact and account data fields for personalized messages.

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According to Javelin Strategy & Research, more Americans are now paying bills at financial institution websites than at biller-direct portals. Javelin believes that the recession has fueled a desire for efficient but integrated online banking, bill pay, personal finance management tools and expedited payments. The nation's big four - Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo - have taken advantage of this, with nearly six out of 10 of their customers paying a bill online through their sites in the previous 30 days. In contrast, many community FIs have been slow to upgrade their capabilities, which could see them miss the boat, warns Javelin.

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my1voice is a virtual receptionist phone service that can act as an overlay onto existing phone lines. The virtual receptionist provides smart call forwarding, professionally recorded greetings, multiple extensions, voicemail, Find Me/Follow Me call forwarding, a toll-free phone number, voicemails forwarded to e-mail capabilities, and other communication tools without the need of adding new equipment or modifying existing phones. my1voice starts as low as $10 per month.

A new study from Infonetics Research finds that a gloomy economy hasn't stopped the growth of the Ethernet services industry. In fact, the current global recession is actually a reason more organizations are adopting Ethernet and IP MPLS VPN services. The research firm notes that adopting those technologies increase efficiencies and reduce costs - Infonetics says that Ethernet services on average cost between 20% to 30% less than frame relay or private line services. They also found that North American Ethernet services cost about one-third per megabyte less than DS3s or SONET services.

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VoltDelta’s ”DeltaCallme” automated service answers peak-period or off-hour calls using interactive voice recognition software and SMS confirmation to assist callers. The technology also schedules callbacks and SMS reminders, as well as offers appointment reminders, need for servicing, and other consumer care services via automation. When a call is place, a voice prompts greets callers with a suggestion that they can receive a pre-schedule call back from an agent at their convenience. DeltaCallme then collects caller information for a specific date and time that suits their needs. Callers can also accept an SMS message with appointment details. The results can then be sent to an integrated CRM or agent system, or stored for manual review.

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