Datacard Group Announces Instant Issuance Pilot Implementation With Mountain America Credit Union

Innovative flat card program designed to better serve existing customers and attract new members

Minnetonka, MN – November 4, 2009 – Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions, is pleased to announce an instant issuance pilot program implementation with Mountain America Credit Union (MACU).

MACU is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, thanks in large part to their commitment to delivering quality products and services to their nearly 320,000 members. Instantly issued credit cards are a service that MACU has offered for some time, but they approached Datacard Group when they wanted to increase the quality and overall value of the program.

“MACU has seen higher activation and card utilization with our branch issuance program, and customers like the convenience of getting a card right away”, said Tony Rasmussen, SVP of MACU. “The Datacard® solution will help MACU build on this successful program and deliver more attractive, higher quality cards to our customers”.

Working with Problem Solved, Datacard developed, implemented and supported instant card issuance software that is integrated with MACU’s existing Symitar host system, and is also interfaced with Pemco, a payment solutions company, for card activation.

For card production, MACU utilizes the Datacard® RP90i™ financial card printer, which offers security features that meet established specifications for the instant issuance of Visa® cards. The RP90i card printer delivers brilliant, full-color retransfer printing with over-the-edge coverage, enabling the production of unique designs to help build member loyalty.

“Image quality on the card was an important consideration for MACU in selecting a partner for this program,” said Russell St. John, vice president of global marketing for Datacard Group. “They compared competitive products side by side and were impressed by the color reproduction and clarity of the cards printed using the RP90i printer”.

About Datacard Group
Datacard Group is building on a 40-year heritage of innovation and customer success. Our portfolio of solutions, backed by expert service and support, enable card and secure ID programs for financial, government and other markets worldwide. With an unmatched commitment to customer satisfaction, Datacard remains the industry’s leading brand of secure ID and card personalization solutions. www.datacard.com

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Actions announced today by Prime Minister John Key to target methamphetamine are welcome, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

“The Prime Minister’s package of announcements shows a welcome recognition, at the highest level of Government, of the extent of the ‘P’ problem,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The ultimate success of some the initiatives, like restricting access to pseudoephedrine-based medicines, will be measured in terms of ‘P’ availability and street price. Information from our frontline investigators is that large scale, organised crime-linked ‘P’ labs already tend to use imported ContacNT, rather than locally-sourced cold and flu pills, so moves to increase Customs’ focus in this area are critical.

“As the Prime Minister himself said, we won’t solve the problem overnight – but there is a clear determination on Mr Key’s part to take firm action which has at some times in the past been lacking.

“The Police Association first started warning about the threat of a looming methamphetamine epidemic as far back as 1997. Unfortunately, those warnings were largely ignored by the Police and political leadership of the day and written off as scare mongering. It needs to be understood that as a result, we are now dealing not just with a drugs problem, but also a serious organised crime problem.”

Mr O’Connor also welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement that confiscated criminal assets would be put back into policing and treating methamphetamine addiction.

“New Zealanders will see the poetic justice in criminals being stripped of their ill-gotten gains, and seeing that money poured back into the fight against gangs and drugs,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Obviously, there are issues of detail that will need to be worked through. For example, overseas experience shows it can take several years before asset restraining actions actually result in money being confiscated, because of legal processes and challenges. The amount of money confiscated each year can also vary wildly. Combating organised crime requires long-term commitment of resources to in-depth investigations, so vital policing tasks mustn’t grow to be dependent on delayed and unpredictable cash flow from proceeds of crime recoveries,” Mr O’Connor warned.

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