TNB Card Services Conference Highlights Credit Cards as Most Profitable Credit Union Product

Marking 30 years in the payments industry, TNB Card Services achieved a record level of attendance, with representatives from some 100 credit unions from around the country, at its 2006 Payments Conference in Frisco, Texas. The conference focused on the trends, challenges, and opportunities in today?s payments landscape.

A recurring theme throughout the October 11-13 conference was the changing competitive environment and growth opportunities for credit unions in the debit and credit card space. As Scott Wagner, executive vice president of TNB Card Services, noted, ?Credit card programs are one of the most profitable products in a credit union?s portfolio, despite fraud concerns. Debit cards are also a key building block in the relationship between a credit union and its members. Debit and credit cards will only grow in importance to credit unions? members as electronic payments continue to expand.?

Renée Mauborgne, co-author of the international business bestseller ?Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant,? keynoted the conference. Mauborgne addressed the conventional boundaries of competition and the six paths credit unions can take to reconstruct their market.