No. Member-specific color themes and picture albums were not included in the first phase of our new look project. However, members can personalize the site using the Favorite Accounts and Favorite Features settings on the main page (click the little gear icon next to each). They can also upload a personalized image to appear in the Profile menu (upper-right corner of the screen). Also, your credit union will have nearly unlimited ability to customize the standard colors, layout, graphical ad  More...

Click the My Preferences button (a star) in the upper-right corner of the CU*BASE home page and choose from one of the available Color themes. Use Enter when done to save. Themes are tied to your CU*BASE employee ID, so you will see that theme even if you log into CU*BASE from a different workstation.

Prior to the 16.10 release, the SSA began using multiple Company IDs, and it was recommended that credit unions consider using Automated Funds Transfers (AFTs) to handle distributions. Beginning the 16.10 release a new cross-reference system will be implemented that will automatically funnel all incoming company IDs from the Social Security Administration and treat them as if they came from one, consistent company ID we’re referring to as the “Primary ID.” With the changes ma  More...

For an additional level of security or to fulfill complex password requirements, members may add special characters to their passwords. They may also add special characters to their security question answers. Some members may even use the feature that allows them to create their own security question, and they may elect to include special characters in that as well (for example a question mark). Allowed special characters are listed below. Some characters have special significance to certain   More...

Deactivating auto-security then reactivating it does require you to enter a different employee ID. After a password is entered to reactivate auto-security under that ID, the screen will refresh the tools display to show which ones can be accessed and which cannot. However, it doesn't necessarily refresh all of that employee's other preferences such as color theme or tool set (Favorites vs. All My Tools). Therefore it's best to just log off and have the next user log in to complete  More...

Prior to the 16.10 release, the SSA began using multiple Company IDs, and it was recommended that credit unions consider using Automated Funds Transfers (AFTs) to handle distributions. Beginning with the 16.10 release a new cross-reference system will be implemented that will automatically funnel all incoming company IDs from the Social Security Administration and treat them as if they came from one, consistent company ID we’re referring to as the “Primary ID.” With the chang  More...

Using CU*BASE to Comply with New Rules for Tracking Beneficial Ownership FinCEN has issued new rules under the Bank Secrecy Act that require financial institutions to identify and verify the identity of the beneficial owners of all legal entity members (corporations, etc.). Under the final rule, credit unions are required to have written procedures to identify and verify beneficial owners of legal entity members who open new accounts on or after May 11, 2018. In addition to identifying and coll  More...

The differences ultimately come down to control and cost. The online ASP system is the fastest, simplest, most inexpensive way to get started with an e-documents strategy for your credit union. With online ASP you offload the back-end service management headaches to CU*Answers. We manage, backup, secure, and patch/upgrade the eDOC servers and databases and these processes fall under our SAS 70 and third party security audits. The online ASP system consists of electronic storage of receipts, loan  More...

You can use a third party tool to work your asset and liability projects and the associated income and expenses. Just remember that you can only upload the income and expense figures into your budget. The upload tool does not support uploading resulting balances for asset and liability G/Ls.

There are two ways to accomplish this: The first way is to use the Marketing Opt-Out flags on the member's MASTER record. Introduced in the CU*BASE 9.2 release (August 2009), these are two flags that can be checked to exclude the member from third-party marketing communications and/or CU-related marketing commnunications. See the Opt Out link below to read more about the use of these flags. When creating a database file using Member Connect tools, or the CU*BASE List Generator, or even t  More...

Yes, there will be a few features we are not bringing over into the new mobile first design. Features being permanently sunset: Promise Deposits - As most CUs and members have fully embraced RDC with its available near-real-time posting option, we made the decision not to bring the Promise Deposits feature into the new modules/mobile first design. Member-selected color themes, picture albums, and start page - The start page feature has been replaced by the Favorite accounts and Favorite feat  More...

The Secondary Names (SECNAMES) file stores instructions that link a membership account to another member or non-member record. The file stores links to joint owner names and beneficiary names for all non-IRA account types. (IRA beneficiaries are stored in a completely different file because they are linked to an IRA Plan Type, not specific individual sub-accounts.) The file also stores a third type referred to as miscellaneous owner which can be used for any purpose you wish. The most co  More...

To customize the appearance of your CU*BASE homepage, use the Preferences (F5) button (the star) on the home page. From there, you can customize the look and action of your home page in the following ways: Activate auto security when logging in Launch ProDOC when logging in Which tools to show when logging in (All My Tools, My Favorites, All Available Tools) When displaying favorites, choose to show My Groups, my CU Groups, or Both Sort tools by favorite sequence, tool number, or tool titile   More...

Special care should be taken when adding distribution records for a member who has more than one deposit coming for the family from the same institution. Take the time to research the member ACH records using the ACH inquiry screen, and if there isn't enough information on this screen, go to CU*SPY and find the PACXTB report to review the ACH detail. For example, the Smith family receives three ACH payments for Social Security benefits: one for the husband, John, one for the wife, Mary, and   More...

These message indicators appear on the CU*BASE loan insurance premium posting report (TCUNAS2 / TCUNAS3) and the Debt Protection Fee posting/exception reports (TCUNAD2 / TCUNAD3). By looking at the reports, you can tell if a premium / DP fee posted or not based on the exception. LOAN INSURANCE MESSAGES ADD SIGN There is joint coverage on this loan. There is either no 'additional signer' record, or the birth date for the additional signer is missing or invalid. JT TO SG There is joint cov  More...

The first step is to make sure your credit union has filled out the three required forms: Sign Up Form, Electronic Payment Service Agreement, and Fed ACH Participation Agreement. There is also a non-disclosure agreement to sign to receive a copy of Magic-Wrighter's SSAE-16 audit results. Once the Client Service and Education team has received the forms from your credit union, they will send the form to our third party processor, Magic-Wrighter. Magic-Wrighter will submit a confirmation with  More...

That’s true when adding a brand-new record, but it is possible to re-sequence numbers later once the records already exist, so try this: Use Add and add the new contact number, leaving the sequence # as is After saving, select the new number in the list and use Edit Change the sequence # to 1 and press Enter A warning message will appear; use Add/Update to confirm All remaining phone numbers will be re-sequenced to fit the new one in. TIP: When changing the sequence number for an existin  More...

If you: A) automatically deactivate online banking access for all new members, and B) expire online banking passwords due to non-use after 90 days, then how do you run an online banking promotion? After all, sending a marketing piece to members won't do any good if they're disabled or locked out from logging in. Of course you could have them call the credit union to get set up, but here's another idea: Set up a special promotional period! Pick a date to start your campaign. Advert  More...

The process can vary a bit according to the vendor, but here's a discussion about how it works for credit unions on the CO-OP network, as an example. In most cases, debit card authorizations create a Misc. Secured Shares record on the member's account to hold the funds. When the actual transaction comes in, this record is automatically deleted. (There are exceptions to this rule, such as gas purchases.) A little history: In the past, debit card authorizations would add a hold to an ind  More...

PIB provides a layered security approach to add additional authentication controls for Online Banking. PIB, which stands for Personal Internet Branch, is an independent application that provides multiple, configurable controls that govern how Online Banking behaves and what members can do with access to it. PIB allows your members to control access to their accounts with controls by feature, day of week, time of day, and even geographic location. It layers additional passwords and member aut  More...

To update a signature line in CU*BASE, you’ll use the Tool #497 Member Connect Marketing Tools . (You will need a file name to move forward, so it can be helpful to have a test file created in your QUERYxx library for situations like this.) NOTE: For Member Reach clients, Xtend has previously created a file ‘MBRRTEST’ that will allow you to access the Message Maintenance screen. Select Online Banking and/or email message from the first window and then use Enter. On the Mem  More...

Yes, the Statement Mail Groups feature lets you configure up to 9 codes that can be attached to a member's account. The codes specify whether statements should be printed and archived (the standard method) or just archived only. This is used in situations such as for members with written-off loans or bankruptcy situations where the member shouldn't receive a statement, or even if you want to avoid printing statements for your own staff. Archived statements are available through CU*SPY  More...

The FRB produces six sets of files each business day on weekdays, Monday through Friday, except for Federal Holidays. CU*Answers posts the files as follows: CU*Answers receives the first and sixth set of files overnight and posts them by 8:30 AM ET. As this posting is a combined posting, two Receive reports and one Posting report are produced. CU*Answers receives the second set of files by noon and posts by 1:00 PM ET. Same-day credits must be posted with this file. CU*Answers receives the thir  More...

Remember that once the emails are sent by CU*BASE, it becomes a function of various email service providers to deliver the emails to members. Because of the way our system can send a batch of email messages to a large group of members at the same time, there may be some providers that interpret these email messages as “spam” (junk email) messages, especially if you have a large number of members who use the same provider (such as Gmail). If you hear from members that your emails ar  More...

The Audit Link service consists of three interrelated business activities. The first is an overall analysis of the credit unions needs, hot buttons, and recent audit or examination findings. This analysis is designed not only to tailor the program for the credit union but also to facilitate an overall general compliance tune-up. The second area of this initiative is the development of a daily, monthly, and quarterly roadmap of tasks to be completed. This is where the credit union would see the  More...