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Smart Financial CU Reaps Increased Revenue by
Consolidating on TNB Debit Card Processing Platform

Dallas, November 16, 2009 - By consolidating its PIN and signature card processing with TNB Card Services, Smart Financial Credit Union of Houston has seen an average increase of eight percent per month in PIN point-of-sale revenue. The $431 million credit union partnered with TNB Card Services earlier this year to streamline the processing and management of its card operation through a single processor.

Using the STAR network and TNB's card processing capabilities, Smart Financial streamlined its debit card processing onto a single network. The credit union not only gained efficiency but also increased its revenue. The first month following the April 2009 conversion, Smart Financial generated a 10 percent increase in revenue, by processing the debit transactions through TNB.

"Having two processors to manage basically the same card account was very inefficient," said Corbin Wilson, vice president of electronic service delivery for Smart Financial Credit Union. "Because the networks didn't talk to each other, we were duplicating work, which was completely unproductive. We saw that consolidating the processing under one roof could eliminate dual entry of card data and simplify the entire process."

Wilson added, "In addition to increased revenue and improved processing efficiencies, by consolidating our debit processing with TNB we were able to increase card security for PIN-based transactions by adding card verification value codes and fraud detection. These are features we didn't have with our former PIN debit processor."

Smart Financial is also now able to add debit cards at the branch level. Applications are entered into the system from an employee's PC, expediting processing and putting a debit card into a member's hands more quickly. TNB also enables Smart Financial to see transaction data in real time, eliminating the need to preauthorize transactions. This helps cardholders better manage their accounts by letting them view pending transactions through their online account access. Prior to the conversion, there was a time lag for postings, which limited members; ability to effectively manage their accounts.

"Overall, TNB has removed the headache of managing our debit card program, and increased our revenue. We can't ask for more than that," said Wilson.

About Smart Financial
With more than 80,000 members and $431 million in assets Smart Financial Credit Union has 17 branches serving Harris County (Houston) and neighboring Montgomery and Fort Bend counties.

About TNB Card Services
TNB Card Services, owned and directed by credit unions since 1976, provides electronic payments processing for credit unions nationwide. Serving more than 550 financial institutions of all sizes and managing more than 2 million cards, Dallas-based TNB enables credit unions to enhance member loyalty through credit union-branded card products. For more information about TNB, go to www.tnbcard.com or call Mark Fenner at 1-800-422-0733 ext. 6655.