As Hurricane Season Begins, CUSC Offers New Disaster Recovery Product

CURe promises to aid in business continuity

Atlanta, GA (June 8, 2006) — The news is out: this hurricane season is going to be a rough one. To help credit unions prepare, Credit Union Service Corporation (CUSC) now introduces Credit Union Recovery (CURe), a shared branching enhancement that offers credit unions two options that will allow facilities to continue serving members even in the face of disaster.

With June 1 marking the beginning of what is forecasted to be a period jam-packed with higher than average storm activity, it is imperative for credit unions to learn a lesson from last year's catastrophic events and be prepared for the worst. Next Generation Network CURe was created to provide credit unions the ability to perform transactions for members through the CUSC Next Generation Network (NGN) even when their data processing system is incapacitated and transactions cannot otherwise be completed. With two alternatives, credit unions can supplement their current operating environment and disaster recovery plan with one or both options, thus never leaving members without access to essential funds.

But how does CURe work? CURe gives credit unions the ability to offer transactions when their infrastructure is damaged based on either a positive balance file submitted to CUSC on a regular basis or a secondary VPN device in place at the credit union's hot site. The positive balance file gives tellers at service center outlets accepting members of an impacted facility the ability to see member information similar to that in a normal shared branching transaction, therefore greatly reducing the threat of fraud and improving upon normal offline procedures. Previously, this high level of information was not available. Credit unions that choose to have a secondary device setup at a hot site have the comfort of knowing that their shared branching operations will be running at normal speed within a matter of minutes after switching to the backup technology.

"After witnessing first hand the amount of hardship credit unions experienced during the 2005 hurricane season, CUSC made it a priority to help ease future potential difficulties in any way possible," says Carroll Beach, President/CEO of CUSC. "We feel that with CURe, credit unions can focus their energies on infrastructure repair and other issues because they know their members will be served."

CUSC's solution offers credit unions a way to defend themselves against this year's dire predictions. Forecasted are up to ten hurricanes, six of which may become major, and amounting to double the activity found in an average hurricane season. Only one conclusion can be drawn: credit unions must have a plan.

"We still feel the impact of last year's disasters today and have learned that preparation is essential," says Anne Cochran, President/CEO, Louisiana Credit Union League. "Members must be served no matter what happens, and CURe will help our credit unions do that."

Credit unions must also remember that disasters are more then just hurricanes. Emergencies can range from natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and blizzards, to man-made and computer disasters, such as vandalism and data corruption. With the range of hazards out there, shared branching and CURe become valuable assets to any disaster recovery plan.