Current News

PCS, LLC assists credit unions with solutions for remote deposit

Credit unions accepting deposits at ATMs have long been aware of the inherent inefficiencies. Typically, the credit union must send staff or a contracted third party to each machine every day, collecting deposit envelopes and returning to the nearest branch where employees work together opening each envelope, verifying and recording the contents, and making account adjustments where necessary for all-too-common empty and short envelopes.

These inefficiencies prompted many credit unions to forego ATM deposits long ago, deploying only cash-dispensing machines instead.

When National Institutes of Health FCU (www.nihfcu.org) in Rockville, MD decided to pursue technology that combines member convenience of ATM deposits with Check 21 efficiencies, they contacted Palmetto Cooperative Services (PCS) for assistance. The $515-million-asset credit union serves 43,000 members with ten branches and twenty-eight ATMs throughout suburban Washington, DC. With the latest ATM hardware available, NIHFCU has deployed machines that now accept deposits without envelopes, eliminating daily visits and dual control. Members can deposit checks and cash in nearly any quantity and denomination directly into machines that identify, verify, and count each bill. Check images and data are sent directly to PCS for collection while currency safely awaits removal.

Consumers continue to use technology to make their lives easier. A GPS device replaces dozens of maps and is much more user friendly, and e-mail has become the preferred mode of written communication. Now members of some credit unions no longer have to visit a service center to make deposits, saving travel and wait time while reducing use of fossil fuels.

Members of Public Service CU (www.pscunow.com) in Romulus, MI, will soon enjoy the convenience of depositing checks from their home, office, or anywhere they find a good cellphone signal. Working with PCS, this $130-million asset credit union will offer many of their 23,500 members the convenience of Remote Deposit Capture solutions.

Eligible members will be able to scan and deposit checks using any TWAIN-enabled flatbed scanner--the same used to scan pictures and other documents. Better yet, eligible members with an iPhone can photograph both sides of a check item from anywhere and transmit it to PCS for collection, and the service soon will be available for the Droid, Blackberry, and other smartphone devices. Deposits are possible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the world.

Also, PSCU members with commercial accounts may be eligible to use the PCS Merchant Capture solution, enabling deposits of multiple checks on a regular basis. A small MICR scanner and appropriate Internet-based software allows the business owner or designee to transmit deposits from their office, eliminating routine trips to the credit union to enable increased member productivity and efficiency.

Palmetto CUSO completes successful capital infusion campaign

COLUMBIA, SC (12/18/09) Palmetto Cooperative Services, LLC (PCS) has just completed a successful campaign to raise additional capital necessary to support growth and success for the credit union service organization (CUSO).
Responding to a private placement offer, twenty-six (26) South Carolina credit unions have joined with South Carolina Service Corporation (SCSC) to provide more than $8 million in capital.
In business since 1969, PCS was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the South Carolina Credit Union League prior to becoming an independent CUSO earlier this year. While its structure has changed, PCS remains true to its cooperative foundation and its mission of serving credit unions.
The collective investment is an early milestone on the CUSO's new path, according to PCS, LLC President and CEO Ed Culpepper, and one that will enable further shifts.
"The new funding will be used for debt restructuring, research and development, and marketing enhancements," Culpepper said.
PCS currently provides item processing services, Check 21 solutions, paper and electronic statements, and periodic notices to nearly four-hundred (400) credit unions nationwide, with new credit unions being added every month. As a CUSO, PCS' focus on credit unions and their unique needs remains true. Even with the continued decline in check volumes nationwide, PCS processing continues to grow.
With many credit unions seeking alternatives to their corporate credit union, PCS expects to add more item processing customers next year. Existing customers enjoy a full range of Check 21 solutions including Branch Capture, Teller Capture, Merchant Capture and ATM Capture.
According to Culpepper, consideration will be given to expanding the ownership opportunities during 2010.
"The board of directors wanted to ensure that South Carolina credit unions had the first ownership opportunities," Culpepper noted. "After all, they're the ones that had the vision to create the company and the ones who have supported us for the past forty years.
"As we expand our market to include multiple states, we will want to provide additional opportunities for those customers to have an ownership interest, ans we'll do that next year," he added.

SC Credit Union League establishes PCS, LLC; renames league service corporation

Action by the South Carolina Credit Union League (SCCUL) Board of Directors effective January 1, 2009 has renamed its wholly-owned subsidiary, established Palmetto Cooperative Services, LLC (PCS, LLC), a limited-liability company under a three-member Board of Managers, and named Ed Culpepper, formerly chief operating officer of Palmetto Cooperative Services, Inc., as president of PCS, LLC.

Under the new structure, PCS, LLC accepts transfer of certain assets and business lines from the wholly-owned subsidiary. This sets up PCS, LLC for improved capitalization through investor ownership, which in turn will enable further development of services and technology, enhance marketability, and align representation with the company's diverse customer base. Investment options will be made available nationwide.

Leading PCS, LLC is a new Board of Managers: Paul Hughes, president of Greenville Federal Credit Union (Greenville); Garry L. Parks, president and CEO of SCCUL; and Scott Woods, president and CEO of South Carolina Federal Credit Union (N. Charleston).

The scope of activities for PCS, LLC includes:

• Providing advanced payment systems and services including image-based processes such as branch capture and item exchange with the Federal Reserve; and
• Offering customizable communication services such as statement and insert processing, notice production, and single- and multi-color printing.

Accompanying the establishment of PCS, LLC is the renaming of the League's wholly-owned subsidiary from Palmetto Cooperative Services, Inc. to South Carolina Service Corporation, Inc., or SCSC. SCSC will continue to serve South Carolina credit unions through system relationships and administration of fee-based services for SCCUL-member institutions. Those include conferences and training, accounting and bookkeeping, and internal audit.

SCSC was originally founded in 1969 as Credit Union Marketing Services, Inc. to provide shared essential resources to South Carolina credit unions, many of which would have been unable to independently establish and fund the same services.