On the evening of Dec. 18, national media outlets issued Breaking News about the theft of credit and debit card data on about 40 million shoppers at Target from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15. Although this warning sent shock waves through credit unions seeking protection for members, some of those on FLEX first heard the news from their core processor. Others on FLEX were relieved to find an integrated report developed specifically for this breach by the following day.
“Upon receiving the program from FLEX on a Friday, we produced the report and identified all members affected,” said Kirk Mondy, President of Poplar Bluff Federal Credit Union. “We contacted each member inviting them to the credit union where we were able to instant-issue a new card without having to perform a mass re-issue. By Saturday at least half of the members affected had a new card in their possession. The level of appreciation from our affected members was most gratifying.”
As news of the breach was released Wednesday evening, FLEX engineers immediately produced a credit union executable report identifying exposed members. By Thursday afternoon, an email was sent to all credit unions on the FLEX System announcing the crisis and offering immediate deployment of a custom program and attendant report designed to help the credit union determine which of their members might be vulnerable to the breach in consideration of all available options short of a mass re-issue.
“Whether we are facing a financial crisis or day-to-day operations, FLEX engineers are constantly working to provide inventive and integrated technology solutions for credit unions,” said Senior Vice President Sean Holcomb. “In addition, our customer support teams stay engaged with our credit unions to ensure that we build solutions that meet specific and general needs that can be easily accessed and employed. We are proud that our proactive approach and quick response to the Target issue was beneficial to our clients and express our appreciation to the many reports of client gratitude for this effort.”
"The FLEX program has been a tremendous help. We delivered nearly 800 letters to the post office to notify members affected in the Target breach. It is great how FLEX helped their credit unions address this issue with such speed,” said Al Frosolone, CEO of Niagara’s Choice Federal Credit Union.
FLEX facilities managed services is an integrated core software solution serving nearly 300 credit unions in locations across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Eastern Caribbean. The company enjoys established relationships with all regulatory agencies, corporate credit unions and major industry partners.