Municipal Credit Union Prepares for Check 21 with TWS; Leading Edge Solutions Allow $1 Billion Financial Institution to Reap Full Benefits of Image Exchange

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- New York City-based Municipal Credit Union (MCU), one of the largest credit unions in the nation with more than 300,000 members and assets exceeding $1 billion, has selected TWS Systems, Inc.'s IMAGECENTER solutions in preparation for Check 21. MCU selected several of the IMAGECENTER modules, including ALERTMANAGER BY TWS (ALERTMANAGER) a real-time fraud prevention solution and OMEGA BY TWS (OMEGA), a Microsoft(R).NET-based ATM deposit management solution that automates the processing and management of an ATM deposit.

The TWS solutions will figure prominently in the MCU Image Exchange (Check 21) strategy, which includes the capture of images at the branch level. Implementing both ALERTMANAGER and OMEGA will significantly increase the level of service MCU is able to offer its members, giving the credit union an increased competitive advantage in an increasingly aggressive market.

Using ALERTMANAGER, MCU is able to customize fraud prevention criteria to meet its specific needs. The system reviews each transaction at the institution and automatically sends an alert or warning when any of the pre-set fraud prevention criteria is met. With ALERTMANAGER, MCU receives constant updates about possible fraudulent transactions. In addition, the credit union has access to an online network where they can get information on fraud activity and updates on future training conferences.

"MCU is a solid example of the 21st century credit union," said Milton King, president of TWS. "IMAGECENTER was designed to allow leading-edge credit unions to explore new business opportunities without the worry of exposing their membership to the risk and cost associated with fraud."

OMEGA will allow MCU to streamline and automate its ATM deposit processing from start to finish. Using digital-image processing and handwriting recognition (CAR/LAR/ICR) technology to read check deposit amounts, OMEGA dramatically reduces data entry for ATM reconciliation. Other key components of OMEGA include the solution's ability to cut fraudulent transactions by 80 percent; a disaster recovery system, which stores and re-routes check images and data; and a lifecycle envelope management feature which tracks ATM deposits, giving managers the flexibility to schedule personnel based on the predicted volume of deposits.

King said IMAGECENTER PRODUCTLINE is ideally suited for processing in the Check 21 era. The solution uses the latest in image-recognition technology to automate the balancing and processing of most transactions within a financial institution. ImageCenter will automatically balance more than 80 percent of MCU transaction processing. Its open design gives financial institutions the ability to consolidate regional and central back office transaction processing onto a single platform.

About TWS Systems, Inc.

Clearwater, Fla.-based TWS Systems, Inc. is a privately held financial services company that is the first company to offer total deposit automation with image-based ATMs. TWS is the leading provider of transaction processing solutions and fraud prevention tools for the credit union industry, and is the leading provider of ATM and fraud management solutions for banks.

For additional information about TWS Systems, Inc. call 800.247.1342 or visit www.twssystems.com.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Business Wire

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

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Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

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