News

PSCU expects to reach 1 billion debit transactions next year

June 14, 2010

PSCU Financial Services is on track to reach 1 billion debit-card transactions by 2011 after strong performances last year and in 2010's first quarter, executives of the St. Petersburg, Fla., credit-union service organization said recently.

An aggressive promotional strategy by PSCU credit unions resulted in a 16 percent first-quarter increase in debit card transactions over the same three-month period last year. For 2009, debit card transactions rose 22 percent compared with 2008, PSCU said in a statement.

PSCU designed special sweepstakes and organized mail campaigns promoting debit card use for its more than 640 member credit unions. The credit unions represent more than 14 million accounts and 1 million online bill-payment subscribers.

PSCU will conduct seven direct-mail, debit card usage campaigns and periodic sweepstakes promotions. The credit-union service organization pays for many of the campaigns, and the organization also leverages its relationships with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide.

A PSCU debit advisory group, compromised of 20 member-owner credit unions, promotes DebitAdvantage, a platform that supports signature and PIN debit for simplified processing and enhanced fraud protection. PSCU processes debit card transactions through First Data Corp., an Atlanta-based card processor.