CLEARWATER, Fla. – With all the talk about keeping or selling a credit card portfolio, Card Services for Credit Unions, Inc. has launched the Virtual Card Consultant-an online portfolio analysis tool. Designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of a credit card program, the virtual card consultant is free to CSCU's 1,750 member CUs. Key credit card data is divided into four major categories: Accounts and activity; Usage and volume; Receivables aging; and Profitability. In addition, member CUs can click various links including, acquisition/penetration; activation; usage; retention; and card basics to discover how to maximize a portfolios growth. "We realize that in order to be successful, this tool has to be more than just numbers and facts on a computer screen," said Bob Hackney, CSCU president. "The software must be user-friendly, easy to understand and yet comprehensive in content." Enter "Vic", an animated on-screen agent and guide that offers navigation and analyzation tips to lead credit unions down the path of improved profitability. Every month individual and consolidated credit union plan data is automatically encrypted and uploaded into the VCC database, which then converts the raw numbers into a variety of reports and graphs. The reports can then be used to track portfolio performance up to 24 months, evaluate monthly or yearly changes to determine promotion effectiveness and compare key performance indicators to the CSCU averages by card type or plan. [email protected]