PULSE is the only ATM and EFT Network in the country that is owned by members who are both banks and credit unions. Credit union and bank CEOs sit on PULSE's board and the association has traditionally used their presence to help it define and articulate positions which it believes are beneficial to all financial institutions. For example, PULSE helped lead the legislative and regulatory lobbying effort when, in the 1990s, controversy erupted about whether or not financial institutions should be prevented from charging fees for ATM transactions. Further, many people also believe, although PULSE has never confirmed it, that Paur and other PULSE executives were among the leading industry experts that officials from the Department of Justice consulted when discussing whether or not to oppose the proposed merger between First Data Corporation and Concord EFT. When the companies announced their intent to merge, First Data owned a majority interest in the NYCE Network and Concord owned the STAR network. PULSE executives went on the record questioning the wisdom of letting the resulting merged company have too great a percentage of the market for debit transactions in which a cardholder validated the transaction with a personal identification number. By the time it finished its investigation, the Justice Department agreed and the merger will now only go forward conditional on First Data finding a buyer for its interest in NYCE.