TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Credit Union 24, the second largest credit union-owned ATM network in the country, has taken a couple of steps to increase its scope and offer member credit unions more access to ATMs. First, Credit Union 24 took a leap upward in growth, announcing on November 16 that it has entered into an agreement with Atlanta-based Lynk network. The agreement hikes the number of machines available to Credit Union 24 cardholders to 65,000 nationwide. Second, the ATM network announced a reciprocal agreement with MoneyPass that effectively increases the number of fee-free ATMs available to members to more than 11,000 nationwide. The Lynk move allows the Tallahassee, Florida-based Credit Union 24 to more than double the number of its ATMs nationwide, but only on a fee basis. The deal allowing Credit Union 24 cardholders to have access to Lynk machines on a fee basis means Credit Union 24 has established a relationship with Lynk comparable to those that some credit unions have with Visa's Interlink Network or MasterCard's Maestro, only on a significantly smaller scale since those two networks vastly outnumber Lynk's. "Credit Union 24 is very excited about the prospect of significantly expanding ATM access for our credit union cardholders," said Jim Park, Credit Union 24 CEO. "What's more, with Lynk we're better able to satisfy our members' needs for off-site, nontraditional ATM locations." The agreement will allow Lynk access to the Credit Union 24 cardbase of more than 10 million cardholders at credit unions across the country. "Lynk already offers its customers some of the highest transaction-approval rates in the industry," said Melanie Chewning, vice president, ATM Services Division with Lynk. Lynk is a member of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS Group), one of the world's leading financial services companies and is considered the sixth-largest nonbank ATM acquirer in the U.S. Lynk couldn't really characterize its locations as having one specific niche, noting the firm has machines placed in retail shopping malls as well as gas stations and convenience stores. Jim Hanisch, executive vice president with CO-OP Network, the nation's largest, surcharge-free ATM network, congratulated Credit Union 24 on the move, but pointed out that, since the Lynk move did not involve giving anyone fee-free access, the move really doesn't change the overall industry position of the two networks. Of potentially more significance is the deal with MoneyPass which will increase the number of fee-free ATMs to 11,000 nationwide. MoneyPass is the surcharge-free ATM network run by Irving, Texas-based Genpass, the second largest ATM driver in the U.S., according to the company. The deal will bring 2,800 of Credit Union 24′s CU HERE surcharge-free machines to MoneyPass cardholders. It also brings the total number of cardholders from both organizations that can obtain MoneyPass & CU HERE surcharge-free ATM transactions to more than 12 million. "Credit Union 24 carefully considered our options in selecting a partner," said Park. "We selected Genpass because they understand the credit union community and the needs of our members. What's more, we're excited about the millions of dollars we will be able to save our members' cardholders in surcharge fees every year," stated Park. "We believe that this alliance once again proves the universal value that Genpass and the MoneyPass surcharge-free network brings to credit unions," stated Douglas D. Anderson, president of MoneyPass" The moves come at the end of another strong year for Credit Union 24 which also recently announced a $3.1 million payout to its network-participating credit unions for the October 2003 through September 2004. This is a result of Credit Union 24′s POS Platinum Rewards Program – a system intended to reward credit unions for their overall relationship with CU24 and their POS transaction volumes in particular, said Park. "Our POS Platinum Rewards Program is designed to thank our network participants for their loyal support," Park added. Rewards are paid based on the network participant's total monthly, Credit Union 24-approved POS transactions. The more combined ATM and POS transactions processed through the network, the greater the reward. -

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