New Members Help Fuel Record Growth for Credit Union 24

Credit Union 24, the largest electronic funds transfer network in the nation owned by credit unions, said today it had seen transaction volume soar by a record 35% last year, to 140.9 million from 104.7 million in 2003. The network, based in Tallahassee, Fla., credits new members and an expanded roster of locations for the surge, citing the fact that 29 new credit unions joined the system last year, more than ever before. That brought total membership to 445. The membership expansion, along with deployment by independent sales organizations, added 37,000 ATMs to the network, bringing the total to 65,000, with deployment continuing into 2005. Indeed, the ATM count has grown another 20,000 since the first of the year, a spokesman for the switch adds, as a result of new locations brought live by both credit unions and ISOs. “Most of our growth is due to new (as well as existing) cardholders accessing the network through new and existing ATM and POS locations,” says the spokesman in an e-mail to Digital Transactions News. The network says it also supports “hundreds of thousands” of point-of-sale terminals. Credit Union 24 members earn cash rewards for flowing transactions through the network's switch, with amounts varying by transaction volume on their card base. The network says it paid out $3.5 million to members under this program last year, in addition to interchange to acquirers and members shareholder dividends.