MARKHAM, ON – Everlink Payment Services Inc. is pleased to announce that First West Credit Union – British Columbia’s third largest credit union and the fifth largest in Canada – has selected the Everlink Instant Card Issuance solution (ICI) for the fast and reliable in-branch issuance of Interac Flash™ enabled contactless debit cards.

This decision to pilot the Everlink ICI solution makes First West Credit Union the first BC credit union with the capability of issuing fully personalized contact and contactless debit cards instantly, in-branch.

“We are thrilled that First West Credit Union has chosen to implement the Everlink ICI solution,” says Mark Ripplinger, President & CEO at Everlink. “First West Credit Union’s new and existing members will soon benefit from a service that no other financial institution in BC currently offers – the ability to have a member walk into a branch and be issued a new (for new members) or a replacement (for existing members who have a lost or damaged card), fully functional, fully personalized contact or contactless debit card in minutes, without waiting for one to arrive in the mail.”

“The First West team is committed to keeping banking simple for our members,” says Darrell Jaggers, Chief Information Officer at First West Credit Union. “We’re always looking for ways to bring innovative technology into our line-up of products and services so that we can enable our members to bank with us in new and exciting ways. We know our members lead busy lives so we’re thrilled to be able to provide them with a product that allows them to pay for their items with the tap of their card, making everyday purchases a quick, secure and simple process.”

Everlink’s ICI solution features a choice of high-definition financial card printers that instantly produce
a fully functional and personalized card with customizable images and graphics within minutes of a member/customer signup at the branch. ICI enhances the overall member/customer experience by supporting the immediate issuance of new cards, or the replacement of damaged, lost or stolen cards for existing members/customers at the branch level.

For more information on Everlink’s contactless card issuing solutions download Contactless is More.

First West Credit Union offers members the financial strength, comprehensive product selection and extended branch network of a large financial institution while maintaining local brand identities and a unique grassroots approach to service. Led by Launi Skinner, First West is British Columbia’s third-largest credit union with $7.7 billion in assets under administration, more than 177,000 members and close to 1,300 employees. It operates 39 branches throughout the province under the Envision Financial, Valley First and Enderby & District Financial brands. For more information on First West Credit Union, visit firstwestcu.ca.

Follow First West Credit Union on Twitter: @firstwestcu

Everlink Payment Services Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive, innovative and integrated payments solutions and services for credit unions, banks, and independent sales organizations across Canada. In addition to supplying best-in-breed technology infrastructure and payment network connectivity via our well established Payment Network Gateway, we offer a diversified range of integrated payments Lines of Business including: ATM Managed Services, Card Issuance & Management, Fraud Management, POS Acquiring and Professional Services.

Everlink is celebrating 10 Years of Delivering Payment Innovations! Visit www.everlink.ca to learn more.

# # #