FICANEX Services Limited Partnership
C3-1011 Upper Middle Rd.
Unit 1224
Oakville, ON, Canada
L6H 5Z9
Phone: 1-888-581-ATMS (2867)
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Current Issue: July 2012
Welcome New Members
Ficanex Services is pleased to welcome the State Bank of India (Canada) to THE EXCHANGE® network adding 7 ATMs: Abbotsford, Surrey, and Vancouver in B.C.; Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough and Toronto in Ontario. In our next newsletter we will be announcing 2 additional new members, again adding to our ever expanding surcharge free network.
THE EXCHANGE® Network Surpasses
2,400 Canadian ATMs!
We are excited to announce that THE EXCHANGE® network in Canada has surpassed 2,400 surcharge free ATMs. This represents a 345% increase in just 12 short years. We are proud of the overwhelming adoption of THE EXCHANGE® network in Canada which reinforces that our Financial Institution Members are committed to providing their cardholders with a surcharge free, inter-institutional, full function ATM network choice; and that’s superior cardholder service!
What’s New
Glad you asked!
We are always looking for new ways to improve our services to your cardholders. So far this year we have introduced Balance Inquiries at US ATMs, Voice Guidance ATM Indicator and ATM Locator Services for GPS Systems.
With exchange rates remaining favourable, many Canadians continue bargain shopping in the United States. We used to see 2,500-3,000 balance inquiry attempts each month being declined so, to provide better service to your travelling cardholders, we worked with our U.S. counterparts to rectify this situation. Implemented in January, your cardholders, performing a balance inquiry at a US Exchange ATM will have their Canadian account balance returned providing it is readily available from your banking system.
We have found many ATMs now offer voice guidance so in March we implemented this new icon into our ATM locator that indicates which ATMs offer visually impaired cardholders the option to plug in their headsets to receive audio instruction. If your ATMs offer voice guidance but you don’t see the icon in the ATM legend, be sure to update your ATM information in the FI area of our website.
Now, not only can you get step by step instructions to find an Exchange ATM on your smartphone, you can also get voice commands in your car to take you to the nearest ATM in cities all across Canada. Implemented in April, Exchange ATM location files for GPS Systems Garmin and TomTom can be downloaded from our website, www.theexchangenetwork.ca. In the first month alone over 500 downloads occurred. We want to ensure that your cardholders can safely arrive at any Exchange ATM location in Canada and so do they!
Articles of Interest
Occasionally we come across interesting articles when researching points of interest or furthering our understanding of new or emerging trends and technologies. Although we always try to find relevant Canadian information, sometimes the articles are a bit slanted to the US market. However, if we find they still contain interesting trends, facts and opinions we’ll share them with you.
To this end we have created a new heading on our web page www.theexchangenetwork.ca titled Industry Articles. We will post interesting and relevant documents for you to read as we come across them. If you have an interesting industry article to share, please send it to us.
Click here Industry Articles to view what’s available right now.
How Did We Do? Survey says…………………..
In February we solicited your opinions on a number of items. This was our third annual Member Survey conducted again by Angus Reid Public Opinion. Overall satisfaction with THE EXCHANGE® Network remains strong in 2012. Members report a positive image of the network. Here are some of the key findings:
- Nine-in-ten (91%) members report being satisfied (very or moderately satisfied) overall with THE EXCHANGE® Network, on par with satisfaction levels from 2011 (90%).
- Loyalty to THE EXCHANGE® Network is higher than it has been in previous years. All members (100%) in 2012 report that the network is deserving (strongly or moderately) of their loyalty.
- Consistent with the findings in 2011, Ficanex’s management of THE EXCHANGE® Network receives a positive evaluation. Nine-in-ten (94%) members report they are very or moderately satisfied.
- Seven-in-ten (69%) members are satisfied with the Ficanex Board of Directors, while three-in-ten (31%) are not sure of its work.
- Members continue to report communication via email newsletter (74%) as their preferred method of contact.
- Three-in-four (76%) are satisfied with the email newsletter and while fewer select personal email as their primary point of contact, four-in-five (81%) are satisfied with it. Only one-in-five (20%) would like to see the frequency of communications increased and a negligible number of members (2%) would like to see frequency decrease.
We really value all of your opinions and thank you very much for your participation in the survey. Based on your feedback, we will continue to make improvements when and where we can to ensure we provide you with superior service and relevant products.
Lastly, we committed to donate $25 for every completed survey. We are delighted to make a donation of $1,250 to Breakfast for Learning, www.breakfastforlearning.ca. Breakfast for Learning is the leading national non-profit organization solely dedicated to child nutrition programs in Canada. Feeding hungry children nurtures strong minds and provides students with the best chance of success possible. Thank you!
Visit with Us – Upcoming Tradeshows
Conferences and Trade Shows are an important part of our Members’ networking and educational activities. If it is important to you, then it is important to us. Members of the FICANEX Services team will be attending the following events. We hope to see you there to discuss current activities and answer any questions you may have.
September 16th – 18th, 2012:
CUMA (Ontario) Conference, Blue Mountains, Ontario
September 23rd – 25th, 2012:
CUSA/League Data Conference, Ottawa, Ontario
ANNUAL EMPLOYEE CONTEST
OMG! You amaze us! THE EXCHANGE® Network’s Annual Employee Contest ran from May 14 through to June 3 and we received a record-breaking number of entries – almost 3,900 employees over the three week period entered the contest.
This annual contest is designed to help you become more knowledgeable about THE EXCHANGE® and ACCEL® networks and our website – www.theexchangenetwork.ca. Although it’s perfect for new employees, it is also a great tool to refresh your knowledge and we were pleased to see how many of you are familiar with our website and sent in the correct answers. We hope that this knowledge will help you to provide practical assistance to your cardholders.
Three winners were selected by random draw each week. Congratulations to the following lucky winners:
| Week 1 – $200 cash prizeRenee Desrosiers Coastal Community Credit Union, Nanaimo, BC Janis Van Beek Alison Cameron |
Week 2 – $300 cash prize Barb Drummond Stephanie McGrath Cindy DiFilippo |
Week 3 – $500 cash prize Nazleen Nawaz Travis Manders Jackie LeDrew |
Thank you to all who participated!
The ACCEL® Network – Providing Superior Service and an Additional Revenue Stream
Did you know that as a Member of THE EXCHANGE® network you have access to the ACCEL® network which provides Point of Sale (POS) services in the United States for your travelling cardholders? Many of you do, as Canadian cardholders processed an astounding 1.5 million transactions in 2011, which represented a 52% increase over 2010 ACCEL® transaction volumes, proving that your cardholders appreciate this superior service when travelling.
And if superior service wasn’t enough, each time your cardholders use The ACCEL® network your institution receives interchange credits of $0.30 per transaction, on average, providing your financial institution with an additional revenue stream!
Social Media and Marketing Update
Facebook continues to exceed our expectations with Facebook LIKES at over 4,900 and growing daily! We kicked off 2012 with another Facebook contest that ran from January 20th to April 20th, 2012. To enter our “Win Your Change” contest Canadians were required to LIKE us on Facebook and to tell us how THE EXCHANGE® ATM network has assisted them in their day-to-day ATM banking activities. Entries were to be in written, photo or video format with 3 grand prizes of $100, $250 and $500!
Below is just a sample of what your cardholders had to say:
| Larry McCarthy, NLCU “I was so happy I found The Exchange ATM Network because it’s so convenient to make withdrawals while traveling. The Exchange is available just about everywhere I go.” |
| Randy Hamilton, Ontario Civil Service Credit Union “I was so happy I found The Exchange ATM Network because the machines are everywhere and so I don’t have to go searching or pay a surcharge ever!” |
| Ester Glavin, Meridian Credit Union ($500 grand prize winner) “The Exchange ATM Network has made my life easier during a difficult time. I easily installed The Exchange ATM finger APP on my mobile phone. I have been travelling a lot lately, partially for relaxation, partially for work, and also partially because my father is ill and lives far away. The Exchange ATM has helped me find convenient ATMs that work with my credit union debit card, without the surcharge! In such tough times for my family, every dollar and every minute saved driving around looking for an ATM that doesn’t cost a fortune counts. Thanks!” |
Currently underway, YOU PICK THE CONTEST, CONTEST! Continuing our Facebook momentum, is a mini contest to let our Facebook fans pick the next contest. The mini contest is for our LIKES to let us know what they would like our upcoming contest to be. When someone posts their idea people will click “LIKE” to register their vote, or they can post their own idea and have others “LIKE” it. We have asked that the contest entries reflect their love of our ATM network, who we are and what we offer, show creativity, and highlight THE EXCHANGE® network logo. This mini contest will run throughout the summer with 2 finalists going head to head for the most votes. Both will win a Best Buy gift card. The winning contest will start in September!
And if you haven’t done so already, remember to LIKE us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/TheExchangeATM.
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words!
A strong visual will enhance your marketing and communication efforts to your cardholders. With this in mind we have added the visuals we developed for our Smart Phone ATM Locator App and our recently rolled out custom Point of Interest (POI) file that is compatible with Garmin, TomTom and other GPS devices.
Many of our Members are now advertising these essential tools to their cardholders on their websites, social media and internal and external marketing communication channels and clear visual, along with their communication message, will ensure that all of your cardholders are aware that they have access to the necessary tools to locate the closest surcharge free ATM which will eliminate costly surcharges.
Samples of the visuals can be located in the document repository in the FI Area of our website www.theexchangenetwork.ca. Once you are logged in navigation is Document Management / Search Document Repository / Document Category = Marketing Materials / Sub Category = Website Materials.
Also, we want to remind you that as part of our Marketing and Social Media Plan, Ficanex has developed an array of marketing collateral that can be found in the FI Area of our website as well. The entire suite of material is available for your use, free of charge, and consists of varies sizes of in-branch and ATM posters, digital files for TVs or monitors, statement stuffers, and audio files of radio jingles that were produced that you can use on your local radio stations or telephone systems.