STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Executives of the nation's biggest EFT networks are doing everything they can to reassure consumers that Y2K is no big deal -- including pasting neat little stickers on ATMs.by Ann All, editor
December 29, 1999
While some people will be busy nursing a hangover over the upcoming New Year's weekend, those who run the nation's EFT networks will be at the office, working around the clock. Executives of the nation's leading EFT networks, which process the bulk of ATM and POS transactions in the U.S., told reporters at a recent Chicago press conference that they will be on duty continuously in special operations centers at their respective headquarters to monitor the Year 2000 date change. Dennis Lynch, chairman of the Network Executives Council of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and president and CEO of Woodcliff, N.J.-based NYCE Corporation, and five other network heads detailed several initiatives designed to boost consumer confidence in EFT services as 1999 draws to a close. Lynch noted the willingness of the networks to work together to address Y2K. "We have entered into unprecedented cooperation in preparations to help assure the level of service to which consumers have become accustomed," he said. Actions announced by the Council: • The networks have provided the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with a summary of initiatives undertaken to communicate tips and precautions to their financial institution members and their customers. • Starting Friday, Dec. 31, all of the leading shared networks will have 24-hour-a-day watches in their respective markets to monitor operations as the Y2K date rolls around the globe. • Network representatives will initiate ATM transactions in New Zealand, just across the international dateline, to assure system functionality. • A toll-free media hotline has been activated as a central clearinghouse for inquiries regarding EFT systems operations. • The networks have created a special sticker for members to distribute to financial institutions. It reads: "We've exterminated the Y2K bug...this machine is Y2K ready." Following the press briefing, the executives pasted one on a nearby ATM. Joining Lynch at the joint news conference were: Stephen S. Cole, president and CEO of Chicago-based Cash Station, Inc.; Robert Rose, president and CEO of the Ontario, Calif.-based CO-OP Network; Philip Valvardi, president of the Wilmington, Del.-based MAC Network; Stan Paur, president and CEO of the Houston-based PULSE EFT Association; and Ron Congemi, president and CEO of Maitland, Fla.-based STAR Systems, Inc. James H. Martin, president of the Brown Deer, Wis.-based TYME Corporation, was slated to attend but was stymied by car trouble. Cole, of Cash Station, pointed out that Y2K in effect has already hit the ATM industry because the cards it issues have long since carried 21st century expiration dates. Acknowledging that their biggest worry is how people will behave during the millennial changeover, the executives cautioned consumers not to withdraw excessive quantities of cash from their financial institutions. "There is no need to stockpile cash. The Y2K bug has been exterminated, and it will be business as usual come January," said the CO-OP's Rose. While showing a map of the world's time zones, the network officials stressed that 18 hours will elapse between the time the century rolls over in New Zealand and its arrival in the eastern U.S. According to Lynch, this will allow ample time to address any operational glitches that might surface.
