October 28, 2008

Members of the payment card industry - Interac Association, MasterCard Canada, Inc., Visa Canada and many of their respective card issuers and payment processors - today released positive insight and observations from the industry trial of chip technology being conducted in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Chip technology is a new generation of payment cards which contain embedded microchips giving debit and credit cards the ability to securely store and process transaction information, making an already safe payment system even more secure.

"The chip trial allowed participants to assess customer and merchant communications and monitor awareness and adoption of chip technology," said Tracey Black, program director, Kitchener-Waterloo Industry Chip Trial. "Each organization will take away learnings from the trial to support their chip implementation plans across Canada."

For the full news release from the chip group click here.

Interac Association has announced the start of its national rollout of chip cards. For its news release click here.

Courtesy of Credit Union Central of Canada.

Independent survey shows credit unions beat banks in many categories

September 2, 2008

TORONTO – For the fourth year in a row, an independent survey of thousands of Canadians has shown that credit unions rank first in overall quality of customer service among all financial institutions.

“Synovate’s research has shown that Canadians like dealing with organizations that reflect their values,” said David Phillips, president and CEO of Credit Union Central of Canada. “The co-operative principles that credit unions adhere to lead us to focus on meeting peoples’ needs and serving the communities where we live.

“Credit unions have more than five million members across the country and do an excellent job of providing the service people want,” Phillips said. “We are pleased to win the Best Banking Awards, but not surprised.”

The 2008 Synovate Customer Service Index found credit unions ranked ahead of all banks and other financial institutions in the following categories:

• Overall Customer Service Excellence
• Values My Business
• Financial Planning and Advice
• Branch Service Excellence

Credit unions also tied for first in the following categories:

• Recommend to Friends and Family
• Telephone Banking Excellence

The Synovate Customer Service Index survey had more than 35,000 responses among a regionally and demographically representative sample of Canadians. The survey has been conducted annually since 1987.

The 452 credit unions affiliated with Canadian Central have assets of $106 billion and more than five million members. Credit unions are provincially regulated financial institutions owned by their member/customers that provide a full range of financial services.

Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions. The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs more than 6,000 staff in 63 countries. For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.

Courtesy of Credit Union Central of Canada.