Member Newsletters

August 2017 Newsletter
 
 6-MONTH MILESTONE REVIEW

2017 has proven to be another exciting year for FICANEX Services and THE EXCHANGE Network.  As we continue the mandate of raising cardholder awareness and building ATM distribution on our unique network we saw Canadian Exchange transactions total 4,176,282 in the first six months of the year.  Canadian Exchange cardholders performed 3,135,373 withdrawal transactions alone, saving cardholders approximately  $9 million in needless surcharges and saving our financial institutions over $940 thousand in premium interchange as our interchange rate is lower than that of Interac, and that’s #SurchargeFREEdom.

 
South of the border transactions have continued to decline. Canadian cardholders performed 376,065 Accel POS transactions and 173,469 Accel ATM transactions during the first six months of this year.
 

MEET OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBERS

FICANEX welcomes the following new members to the team!
Nadir Ibrahim joined the FICANEX team as Head of Technology and Innovation.  Nadir is responsible for leading the FICANEX technology portfolio and ensuring that network and technical assets continue to remain competitive in the payment ecosystem. Nadir has seventeen years of experience in digital payments having worked for several financial institutions and leading mission critical solutions.  Nadir is a husband and father of son Zain, and daughter Zarah. Welcome aboard Nadir!
 
Yemi Shobowale has joined the FICANEX team as Business Analyst and is responsible for understanding the changing business needs and capturing, analyzing, documenting requirements and supporting the communication and delivery of requirements with relevant stakeholders. Yemi has experience in business process improvement and a keen desire to succeed in all his endeavours.
 Yemi has a BSc in Estate Management and an MSc in Management and Information Systems and having worked in three different continents, he has the benefit of understanding global business dynamics and cultures.
 Yemi is a car aficionado, a husband and father to three great children and feels honoured to be part of the FICANEX team and delighted at the opportunities for the future.   Welcome aboard Yemi!

Catherine Nguyen joined the FICANEX team as Operations Support Specialist and is responsible for daily operational tasks and leads parts of the operational transformation strategy to driveefficiency in the organization. Catherine actively researches relevant industry articles and monitors emerging companies in the FinTech space.  Catherine graduated from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree, specializing in Supply Chain Management and Operations this year. During her spare time, Catherine enjoys exploring and hiking Ontario’s scenic trails and kayaking.  Welcome aboard Catherine!

 

MEET OUR NEWEST NETWORK MEMBERS

FICANEX is pleased to announce that Laurentian Bank of Canada and B2B Bank joined THE EXCHANGE Network in May 2017.  The banks will add approximately 250 ATMs to the network bringing our total ATMs to over 3,550!  The banks’ network implementation is targeted for September 2017.  Welcome aboard Laurentian Bank of Canada and B2B Bank!

 

FICANEX Group 2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FICANEX is pleased to announce the results of the 2017 Board of Directors recommendation process. We are thrilled that this year saw a fantastic group of capable and dynamic candidates putting themselves forward in the decision making process.
 
Joining Rick Kelln, Steve Richard, Jamie McLeod (Vice-Chair), Marie Mullally, Yann Jodoin are returning Directors Chris Goodman (Chair) and Mohamed Ladak and the FICANEX Group’s newest Director, Angela Brown, Vice President Marketing at First West Credit Union in Langley, BC.
 
We welcome our new and returning Board members and look forward to their expertise and guidance as we continue to position our company for the future.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

In each issue of our newsletter we put the spotlight on a financial institution that has found unique ways of promoting the value of THE EXCHANGE Network to cardholders, saving them that nasty surcharge!  In this issue we shine the light on Omista Credit Union in New Brunswick.  In January of this year we announced new marketing visuals that members could use on their mobile banking apps and on their websites, to encourage cardholders to “STOP paying ATM surcharge fees”.  Well Omista Credit Union took it one step further and created an ATM decal to advertise the unique value of our network to cardholders at their ATM.  Now that’s a great way to advertise surcharge-free service!  Way to go Omista Credit Union!

 

2017 NETWORK AWARENESS INITIATIVES

                                                                       

In late April we rolled out our Exchange Tutorial 2.0 and contest encouraging all employees to become Exchange Certified!  Over a 4-week period we had 16 draws of $200 for a total payout of $3,200 over the contest period.  We were thrilled with the results having 108 financial institutions participate with 3,170 employees now Exchange Certified and ready to spread the word on the unique benefits of THE EXCHANGE Network to cardholders!  A friendly reminder that the tutorial will remain on our website and can be used for employee onboarding and refresher purposes.
                                                                             

THE EXCHANGE Network’s Celebrate Savings initiative continues assisting you in advertising the value of our network in-branch.  With FREE t-shirts, marketing visuals and cardholder giveaways, branch visitors will clearly understand the superior service they receive when dealing with your financial institution.  Back to school is fast approaching so if you would like to advertise the value of our network to cardholders that may be heading off to school contact Megan Brab at Megan.Brab@Ficanex.ca to order your supply!
 

FIRST EVER INFOGRAPHIC AND VIDEO SHORT

In June we announced the creation of a first-ever produced infograghic highlighting the unique value and benefits of THE EXCHANGE Network to cardholders.  We created a second infographic for internal use highlighting the value of the network to your financial institution; both with the goal to enlighten staff and cardholders on the key benefits of THE EXCHANGE Network.  We encourage everyone to use in-branch, on-line and on social media.
 
We were also excited to announce a new video short that we created.  To encourage viewing we asked all Exchange Members from coast to coast to post on social media on July 25^th to let out the best kept secret nationally.
 
We will also be running a month-long Facebook contest whereby our Facebook Friends will need to watch the video to be entered into a weekly draw.  Stay tuned for details on how you can promote this contest to your cardholders.
 

CONNECT WITH THE FICANEX TEAM

Below is a listing of the fall line-up of events that members of the FICANEX team will be attending.  Conferences and events are a great way to meet many of our financial institution Participants face-to-face so hope to see you at one of these events.
 
Celero – 2017 Celero FinTech Conference
October 3 – 6, 2017
Kelowna, BC
 
Everlink Connections, 2017
November 13 – 14, 2017
Ottawa, ON 

 

FICANEX A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Over 17 years ago FICANEX Services Limited Partnership was established by a collaborative group of credit unions and banks to share in ATM distribution with the vision of being able to compete with the big 5 banks and control their destiny.  Today, with 174 Canadian financial institutions on the network, serving their 5.5 millions cardholders with over 3,300 ATMs coast to coast to coast, FICANEX Services did just that!
 
As a number of the members of the network will already be aware through our discussions, FICANEX is once again positioning itself to exploit our network effect for the benefit of partners and network members. This time, in the FinTech space with the goal of delivering new and unique services to the benefit of participating financial institutions for many years to come.
 
In order to accomplish this, and with the support of many founding Limited Partners, FICANEX has created FICANEX Technology Limited Partnership which will deliver new and exciting services.  If you haven’t already heard from us regarding ways that you can participate in this exciting initiative, be assured you will in the near future. We are reaching out directly to network members and we will be announcing a webinar to unveil our strategy in detail and how your financial institution can participate shortly.  Stayed tuned for more details.  If this has piqued your interest, feel free to contact Michael Barr directly at Michael.Barr@Ficanex.ca or 905-864-5992 for more details.