CU*Online Newsletter
August 2002 

CU*ONLINE is the Web Design & Maintenance division of Alonzi Technical Consulting.
All Rights Reserved.

 ** 2003 car models are out! Remember to update car model years on your auto rates! ** 

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** 01. Remembering September 11

The one-year anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. If you'd like to do something to honor the date, take a tip from Heartland Credit Union in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Heartland is asking its members to complete an online survey during September. Rather than offering a prize drawing, Heartland Credit Union will donate $1 to the United Way for each response received during September. They're also encouraging members to consider making their own donations to help those in need throughout our community and our country. 

I can't think of a better tribute to September 11.

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** 02. Complying with OFAC

The federal government now closely monitors the compliance of all financial institutions with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. Whether you have fifty members or fifty thousand, OFAC compliance must be a priority.

We are happy to introduce a suite of easy-to-use tools to help with your OFAC compliance. 

• OFAC Lookup allows you to verify new accounts, wire transfers, and check disbursals against the OFAC database using a standard Web browser such as Internet Explorer.
   
• OFAC Batch allows you to submit a file of member names which we will compare against the OFAC database and provide a report to you of any matches.

The OFAC Lookup tools are available in two varieties. You can use the Online version to access our web site, check names and submit files. The only requirement for your credit union is an internet connection and a web browser. The Enterprise version lets you use your own intranet to check names and submit files. (This requires that your credit union has a server running Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), Microsoft Access 2000, and client PCs with a web browser.)

Free Trial Period
Click here to try the OFAC Lookup Online -- it's free until September 15, 2002. If you have any questions or want pricing information, call (952) 829-0819 and ask for either Karen or Fred.

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** 03. Consider an Email Marketing Campaign

If you've got a large base of members using your online banking program, consider asking them to sign up for a free "e-zine" (that's a fancy name for an email newsletter).

There are several advantages to sending out newsletters via email. There are no printing or mailing fees for the credit union. The reader gains more control and additional access to information. It's much easier for members to use online services such as MFN or Googolplex when all they have to do is click on a link to the site.

If you're considering such a venture, your first big decision will be how to format the newsletter. The easiest email format to use is called a "text email." It contains nothing but plain text whose appearance is controlled by the defaults in your email software.

The biggest benefit to text email is that it's a universal email format. Whether your email recipient has the latest email software and high-speed internet access -- or an old AOL account with a slow dial-in modem -- you know your reader will be able to access and read your information.

However, some readers of this email complain that it's boring. If most of your membership sign up using work addresses, then you can customize your email based on the server they're using.

For example, Microsoft email products (both Outlook and Outlook Express) support formatted text. This includes fonts of varying styles and sizes, bulleted lists, colored text, and so on. You can format your email in MS Word, then cut and paste directly into your email and keep most of the formatting.

Keep in mind that if your end reader's email service uses text-only settings, your formatting will be lost. It's a risk that many e-zine publishers are willing to take. In fact, most e-zines today are sent via a third email option called. "HTML email".

When your newsletter is formatted using HTML code (just like a regular web page), you insert formatted text as well as background images and foreground images. You can even include banner ads and active hyperlinks, just like a regular web page.

HTML-formatted emails are attractive and can be very impressive if done right. Unfortunately, there are some obstacles to overcome.

• Use small graphics in HTML emails, and use them sparingly. Say your brother-in-law sends you an email that takes 20 minutes to download -- only to reveal a picture of his fancy new SUV. Your members may feel a similar response if their 20-minute download reveals a loan advertisement for which they have no use. 
   
• HTML emails may also be used to transmit viruses. For this reason, some network administrators do not allow their email systems to accept HTML email. If a home user sets their email security to "High", their system may reject HTML emails automatically. You may need a method in place to field complaints from members who aren't able to receive your emails. If your field of membership only covers one or two businesses, you can check with the MIS departments of those companies to learn if your members can receive your HTML newsletter at work.
   
• Text-based email systems will not be able to display HTML emails. When a formatted text email is sent to these people, they simply see the text without all the fancy formatting. With an HTML email, these people will see the actual HTML code -- not very useful from their perspective.

Regardless what type of email campaign you start, it's important to let your members subscribe and unsubscribe easily. Spam is rampant these days, and people are becoming less forgiving about unwanted email. Since you already have an established relationship with your members, an initial mailing should be all right. But make sure it's very easy for members to "opt out" of your email campaign. 

To set your emails apart from spam, avoid over-promoting your products. Your emails need to include useful tips and interesting stories that your members will enjoy and benefit from reading. It's not an easy process, but there's no better way to gain member loyalty than to drop them a note from time to time.

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** 04. Online Banking and Home Page Log-Ins

Some financial sites proudly proclaim the fact that their members can log into online banking directly from the Home page of their Web site. Before you rush to do the same, consider the drawbacks.

To access online banking, a member needs a secure page on which to enter their account data. Otherwise, it would be too easy for hackers to gain access to member accounts. If this information is entered on your Home page, then your Home page would have to be secure. 

The best way to truly make this information secure is to let your online banking vendor set up and maintain your Home page.  They will charge you a lot more for this service than a normal ISP, however, and updates to your site are more cumbersome.

Still, many are willing to live with these minor inconveniences as long as members gain convenience. However, convenience also carries an intangible price to be considered.

PayPal came under fire this year for "allowing" members to make purchases in bad faith. AOL also investigated a case this year in which several of their members' accounts contained false charges. AOL reported that these members had compromised their own financial data by giving personal information out on suspect sites. Some of them had used the same password for as long as six years.

If you make online banking too easy, your members may blame you if (or when?) they conduct unsafe transactions and get burned. 

Rather than having members sign in on the Home page, simply show a link on the Home page to the sign-in page. Then, fill your sign-in page with security tips. It's a subtle reminder that there ARE people out there who want to steal your information, and your Credit Union is not solely in charge of protecting your data. Members need to exercise caution and common sense as well.  

I predict that the NCUA will someday require disclaimers and security warnings on your sign-in pages.  Who wants those on your Home page? 

A simpler solution is to integrate more marketing onto the sign-in page. Most home banking sign-in pages leave a space for personalized text. You can insert text -- and in some cases, even graphics -- on these pages. Many vendors will even put banner ads on your sign-in page.

It involves some effort to put marketing on your sign-in pages, but it's generally easier and cheaper than adding sign-in fields on your marketing pages.

On a related note, the NCUA has released a brochure for Credit Unions to give their members, offering tips to safely conduct financial transactions over the internet. Click here to view this brochure online. 

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** 05. Who's Linking to Your Site?

Want to know what pages on the internet are pointing visitors to your site? Go to google.com and enter the following: [your domain name] -site:[your domain name]

For example, if I enter "cuonline.com -site:cuonline.com" in the Google search field, it will return a list of all links to the cuonline site that are NOT called from within the cuonline site itself.

Try this. You might be surprised to learn who's linking to your site!

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** 06. Kick 'em when they're up,
Kick 'em when they're down

I've already slammed AOL a lot this year, so I really, really tried to hold my tongue when they admitted to "questionable" accounting practices.

However, misery loves company. And a lot of miserable people are using AOL, so it seems.

The University of Michigan recently surveyed American satisfaction with Web portals. America Online got a consumer satisfaction rating of 59 out of a possible 100, the lowest of all Web portal companies measured. 

"Scores this low are rarely sustainable in competitive markets," University of Michigan Professor Claes Fornell said in the report. "Either there is improvement, or the company is forced to leave the market--unless, of course, it has significant monopoly power. AOL consists, of course, of much more than portals, but the low ACSI score may be symptomatic of more widespread problems."

The top scorer was Yahoo with 76. MSN came in at 72. The average for the portal category was 68. 

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Copyright © 2002, CU*ONLINE. All rights reserved. To contact Karen Alonzi at CU*ONLINE, call or write to Alonzi Technical Consulting's new address at: