UN FCU To Deal In Different Currencies

NEW YORK – The United Nations Federal Credit Union has signed an agreement with a Swiss company that will allow it to take deposits and loan payments in different currencies such as Swiss Francs, British Pounds and European Union Euro as well as U.S. dollars. The credit union has agreed to use core processing software produced by TEMENOS, a company based in Geneva, Switzerland, to enable these transactions. The credit union called the deal the first step to eventually allowing it to serve a far flung and internationally diverse membership. More than half of the $1.9 billion credit union’s 65,000 members reside overseas and the credit union plans to expand offices in Geneva and Rome in 2005. But the nearly $2 billion credit union has refrained from revealing many details about the new processing software, such as whether it would allow the credit union to issue credit cards in different currencies or to take card payments in those currencies. “We are only at the beginning of a lengthy conversion process,” said Elisabeth Philippe, special program associate for the credit union. Philippe said that UNFCU was still working through issues around the conversion, which moved forward after the NCUA ruled that credit unions could operate international branches. It has an implementation schedule of between 12 and 15 months, she added. A press release from the credit union did not specify what those issues might be, but a prepared statement from CEO Michael Connery, Jr. alluded to pending regulatory approvals. “Operating in multi-currencies via TEMENOS’ open systems architecture will enable our institution, subject to receiving regulatory approvals, to conveniently meet members’ demands and compete more effectively in the global retail banking arena,” Connery said. The credit union will deploy the new processing system from UNFCU headquarters in New York City and it will handle domestic processing and the growth of its international member base from a single New York site. The platform is licensed for as many as 160 UNFCU concurrent users and thousands of registered Internet users. It also provides UNFCU with the option to add users over the next five years. [email protected]