Understanding the Phone Number Database

To fit the way members use their phones these days, starting with the 18.07 release CU*BASE uses an independent phone number database that can store an unlimited number of contact #s for every membership. An adjustable sequence # on every record lets you specify which phone number should be called first, second, and so on, when contacting the member by phone.

Phone numbers can be marked with a short label as well as a longer free-form comment. In addition, each number can be flagged with several indicators to mark it as a mobile phone, as a wrong number, or as a number where you have received permission from the member to receive text messages. (NOTE: This is independent from the phone number used for It’s Me 247 Text Banking.) International numbers can also be accommodated by taking advantage of a new “international #” flag along with the comment field.

The new database table that stores contact numbers is called MASTPH and is a companion to the MASTER/MSHIST and MASTRL tables that store other general membership information (or the MSNONMBR and NMBTRL tables for non-members). This same database table is used for phone numbers for non-members as well as closed memberships, via a special indicator: M for members, N for non-members, and C for closed memberships – along with a closed account sequence # for closed members.

NOTE: See below for more details on how the MASTER and MASTRL tables will still contain phone number data going forward.

How were member phone numbers converted when the new phone number database was implemented?

Maintaining and Viewing a Member’s Phone Numbers

When creating a new membership or maintaining an existing one via Tool #3 Open/Maintain Memberships/Accounts, when updating a member’s address information via the Name/Address feature in Phone Operator, or when updating non-member data via Tool #997 Work With Non-Member Database, the screens will include fields where you can enter up to two contact numbers for that member. If additional numbers are needed, you will use a new More Contact #s button that will let you view and adjust all of that member’s contact numbers, labels, and comments.

On screens that display membership information such as via Inquiry and Phone Operator, you’ll generally see the first two numbers, in sequential order, from the member’s contact list.

If more are available, a “More #” Go! button will appear so you can view the others, as well as comments and other details. If the number appears highlighted, it means that number has been marked as wrong. If the label appears highlighted, it means there are additional comments recorded for that number.

How does the new phone number database work with records in my closed membership file (MSHIST)?

When entering a phone number I notice that I can create any seq # I want, such as 10 or 100 or whatever. Doesn’t every member have to have a seq #1 for their primary phone number?

What if I want to add a new primary (sequence 1) phone # for a member while still keeping the existing numbers? I’m getting an error that I cannot use an existing sequence number.

There are still screens and reports here and there that show labels such as “Home phone” and “Cell phone” but those don’t look like my CU-defined labels nor the ones entered when setting up the phone number for the member. What do these labels mean?

Many of my members have said the best way to contact them is via text message. But with the rules around “express consent” that credit union must follow, what’s the best way to take care to only contact members via text message appropriately?

My member is enrolled for text banking and told me that her phone number had changed. I changed the number in the CU*BASE phone number database but she is still not able to use text banking. Can I help her?

Understanding the Configurable Labels

As already mentioned, each contact number can be labeled to identify it, and these short labels will appear on screens such as Member Inquiry, Phone Operator, and the Teller Posting Verify Member window, next to the phone number itself.

These labels are intended to be a convenient way to identify the number in a way that makes sense to the member. Say a member asks you to give them a call about something, and says “call me on my husband’s cell phone.” If the label on that number is “Husband’s cell” then you can easily tell which number they want you to use.

To make it easy on your MSRs, you can define a series of common labels to choose from. This saves time when adding new numbers into the database. However, the system does not force you to use one of those labels, nor does it prevent someone from editing that label on a particular phone number. That way you don’t have to come up with configured labels for every conceivable purpose, just the ones that get used most often.

I created some labels for my team to use when creating phone numbers, but the system still allows them to be overwritten on individual phone numbers. Can I prevent that and force only my labels to be used?

I would like to write some custom Queries to find out how many mobile phone numbers I’ve gathered. Since I can’t force the label to be consistent, how do I do that?

Why Phone Numbers Are Still Stored in MASTER and MASTRL

When the new MASTPH phone number database was created, one of the challenges we faced was having to change literally hundreds and hundreds of other maintenance programs, inquiry screens, reports, data transmissions and custom forms that happened to show or allow maintenance on phone number data. It was not practical or even prudent to make all of these adjustments at the same time, especially for a database that is new and will require time for CUs to set up configurations and adjust procedures going forward.

Therefore, we created a special process that allows us to continue using the old fields while still allowing you to maintain contact numbers using the new sequencing technique and additional data fields. In a nutshell, wherever phone numbers can be directly entered or modified, the system uses a new behind-the-scenes mechanism to copy the updated numbers back to the original fields stored in MASTER and MASTRL, updating that data to the new numbers. For members, only the first three phone numbers in sequence are copied, as follows:

Lowest seq # (or 1) → copied to the old “Home phone” location in MASTER

Second lowest seq # (or 2) → copied to the old “Cell phone” location in MASTRL

Third lowest seq # (or 3) → copied to the old “Work phone” location in MASTRL

You cannot directly update those old fields any longer, so the only way data gets to them is via the new phone maintenance tools via Update Membership Information, Name/Address maintenance, and other similar features.

Special Note about Non-Members

Since the same MASTPH table is used to store phone numbers for non-members as well as members, a similar technique is used for non-member phone numbers as well. That way any custom forms that pull a phone number directly from the MSNONMBR table can still use the old location. For non-members, only the first two phone numbers in sequence are copied, as follows:

Lowest seq # (or 1) → copied to the old “Home phone” location in MSNONMBR

Second lowest seq # (or 2) → copied to the old “Other phone” location in MSNONMBR

(No data is written back to the NMBTRL trailer file, as those numbers are not typically used in other applications.)

Additional Answers

How do member phone numbers work as they relate to card orders and maintenance?

How were member phone numbers converted when the new phone number database was implemented?

I have vendors for whom I create a file of names and phone numbers for call campaigns. How do I gather a list of phone numbers to use?

We sometimes have a non-member joint owners that join the credit union, or closed memberships that re-join later on. When I create the membership I choose to copy that old data into the new membership so I don’t have to retype everything. What happens with the phone numbers in those cases?

Updating Phone Numbers and Red Flag Warning Messages

As noted above, when we converted existing numbers into the current phone number database, we made the decision to list the sequence numbers of Home, Cell, and Work as 1, 2, 3, and label the phone numbers as such in the maintenance area. You may notice that these phone number labels end in question marks (Home Phone?) - this is to indicate that this number may need verification and/or a new label, if necessary, and to show that it was a number that was converted in. To eliminate the question marks, work each member's contact information individually.

As you work these members for accuracy and clarity, be aware that Red Flag Warning messages will apply to an update of any phone number. It will not, however apply to any of the following: adding or re-sequencing a phone number; changing the label; adding, changing, or deleting an extension.

Xtend Shared Branching and "More Contact #s"

Note that when an acquiring credit union is servicing your member, or you are servicing a member of an Xtend Shared Branching credit union, only the first two priority phone numbers (the two lowest sequence #s) will be available to view.