WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Whether supporters or opponents, both sides of the controversy over Concord EFS' offer to purchase the Credit Union 24 Network have had to admit one thing: the recent cash offers of tens of millions of dollars, both from Concord and other companies, for the CU24 Network has highlighted how valuable EFT Networks have become and how much the world of ATMs and EFT has changed. Waves of consolidation have whittled down the number of regional and local Networks to a significantly smaller number of larger players. With that in mind, on pages 98 and 99 Credit Union Times offers information about some of the leading players credit unions have to choose from when making decisions about their EFT networking. The firms are not the only options available to credit unions and belonging to one does not generally preclude a credit union belonging or participating in another. We have also included a short glossary of common EFT terms for our readers' convenience.