Press Releases and News Archive
You can contact us by e-mail at info@eccho.org or by calling (214) 273-3200.
April 4, 2011
ELECTRONIC CHECK CLEARING HOUSE ORGANIZATION (ECCHO) ANNOUNCES NATIONAL CHECK PAYMENTS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
NEW PROGRAM AND CERTIFICATION TEST AIM TO ENHANCE CRITICAL CHECK KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY
Austin, TX — April 4, 2011 — Today the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) announced the launch of the National Check Payments Certification (NCPC) program designed to help financial institutions enhance critical check knowledge essential for check products and processing. UMACHA, Viewpointe and WACHA are partnering with ECCHO to prepare training for an annual certification exam that ECCHO will administer. Additionally, ECCHO is enlisting other partners to maximize the availability of the program across the entire industry. Initially, these partners are EPCOR and The Bankers Bank.
“Improvements in the check system have changed the characteristics and processing requirements of checks while greatly increasing the efficiency of the check payments system and enabling huge industry savings,” said David Walker, ECCHO president. “However, some of these changes have resulted in staffing reductions that dilute the industry’s collective expertise.” The resulting challenge, replacing traditional paper check knowledge with an understanding of the new electronic check environment, has created the need for a national program for check payments certification.
The rate and volume of change in the check payment system during the past five years are unlike any in the history of U.S. payments. According to the “The 2010 Federal Reserve Payments Study” released in December 2010, more than 96% of all checks are already processed electronically. The volume of checks processed in 2009 was more than 24 billion with a value totaling $31 trillion. Given the significant volume and value of checks in the payments system, the degree of operational and product change resulting from the shift from paper to electronics, and the complexity of ongoing regulatory changes, industry participants need to maintain and cultivate additional check expertise.
The NCPC certification exam will test the knowledge levels of individuals in four subject areas:
1) Rules, laws and regulations
2) Fraud and risk mitigation
3) Check operations
4) Check products
The training and examination are designed to be beneficial to payments professionals across their institutions, including those that work in check, ACH, treasury, product, card, fraud and risk mitigation.
ECCHO and its partners are committed to delivering a quality program for the industry. The first publicly available certification exam will occur in spring 2012 with preparation for the exams beginning in 2011. Those interested in learning more about the NCPC or about training and review for the NCPC exam should contact:
About ECCHO
ECCHO is a not-for-profit mutual benefit corporation with more than 3,000 financial institution members. Every depository financial institution in the U.S. is eligible for membership. During 2010, ECCHO member financial institutions used check images to exchange, under the ECCHO Rules, approximately 7.9 billion transactions totaling $9.9 trillion. ECCHO is recognized across the U.S. as the national provider of private sector check image exchange rules.
About EPCOR
EPCOR is a not-for-profit trade association devoted to providing timely and relevant payments education and support to our members to help them maintain compliance, improve operational processes and mitigate risk and fraud. Through our affiliation with NACHA, ECCHO and other industry associations EPCOR fosters and promotes improvement of the payment systems which are in the best interests of our members. EPCOR members include over 2,300 banks, credit unions, thrifts and affiliated organizations located in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For more information visit www.epcor.org.
About The Bankers Bank
Organized in 1985, The Bankers Bank (TBB) currently employs a total of 54 at its main office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, its branch in McKinney, Texas, and its loan production office in Grapevine, Texas. TBB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bankers Bancorp of Oklahoma, Inc., which is in turn owned by nearly 100 community banks. TBB is primarily engaged in providing direct correspondent banking services to several hundred community banks in their region. In addition, TBB licenses its proprietary correspondent banking platform and offers ASP services to other correspondent institutions.
About UMACHA
The Upper Midwest Automated Clearing House Association (UMACHA) is the Regional Payments Association serving the 9th Federal Reserve District. It’s the premier provider for education regarding payments systems and provides more than 100 webinars, workshops, symposiums and showcases annually. It also offer Customized On Location Assistance (COLA) for specialized training and education, information sharing services and compliance and audit services for its 800+ members.
About Viewpointe
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://viewpointe.com/.
About WACHA
WACHA is a not for profit membership organization serving financial institutions and companies on ACH, Check, Wire and Card. WACHA’s mission is to be the Premier Payments Resource for our members and clients by providing them with high value, comprehensive solutions through quality products, education and other services. Products and Services include ACH Audits, ACH and RDC Risk Assessments, training, publications and a payments support line.
Media Contacts for:
ECCHO: David Walker at dwalker@eccho.org or 214.273.3201
EPCOR: Ann-Marie Bartels at ann-marieb@epcor.org or 816.474.5630
The Bankers Bank: Mark Keeling at mkeeling@thebankersbank.com or 405.848.8877
UMACHA: Fred Laing fredl@umacha.org or 763.549.7000
Viewpointe: Loretta Mock/James Cheston at viewpointe@cognitomedia.com or 646.395.6300
WACHA: Mary Gilmeister at mgilmeister@wacha.org or 262.345.1245
October 20, 2010
Viewpointe and Systar Announce Strategic Alliance Agreement
Vienna, Virginia, and New York, New York – October 20, 2010 – Systar (ISIN: FR0000052854-SAR), a leading provider of performance management software, and Viewpointe®, a leading provider of check image exchange and archive services, today announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance. This strategic partnership will allow their joint customers to gain real-time insight into the complete check image life cycle – from internal bank processes to clearing and settlement.
Clearing checks through the exchange of image cash letters (ICLs) brings greater efficiencies to the financial services industry but also creates new challenges in the areas of file validation and reconciliation. Jointly, the offering addresses circumstances in which financial institutions lack the end-to-end validation that ICLs were processed and delivered to the paying bank, or arrived at the receiving bank, as intended and on schedule. Existing bank controls may be reactionary, inspection-oriented, labor intensive and error prone.
Systar’s Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) software provides banks with real-time performance insight into the complex internal processes that support check image exchange, enabling them to anticipate and address operational issues before business impact. By incorporating information from the Viewpointe check image exchange network in Systar BAM dashboards, these capabilities can be extended beyond internal processes and into the clearing and settlement system. Banks can now proactively address potential issues, such as missing or delayed files, through real-time monitoring, automated detection and alerts.
The benefits of this partnership will first be delivered through a joint customer pilot program with one of the world's largest financial institutions, allowing that bank to test the effectiveness of Viewpointe messages automatically ingested into the Systar BAM product for operational needs.
Jointly, Systar and Viewpointe will enable customer banks to take full advantage of the rich information provided by Viewpointe’s check image exchange.
“This partnership offers customers on the Viewpointe network enhancements to their existing clearing and settlement information and true interoperability between our network and our customer’s vendors,” said Glenn Wheeler, president, Viewpointe Clearing, Settlement & Associations Services. “In a sense, we are able to provide a new value-added service by presenting information in the format many customers already use to monitor internal processing performance.”
The joint offering improves automation of the clearing and settlement process and also reduces or eliminates any potential “dropped” ICL files or missed deadlines, which commonly plagues the industry.
“We are excited to partner with Viewpointe, a recognized leader in the financial services industry,” said John Lopynski, vice president of strategic alliances, Systar. “By adding Viewpointe information to our check image BAM solution, we will provide tremendous value to our joint customers through proactive monitoring that extends beyond bank boundaries.”
ABOUT VIEWPOINTE
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://viewpointe.com/.
About Systar
Over 180 clients worldwide, including 10 of the world’s 15 largest banks, rely on Systar’s performance management software to maximize the efficiency of their business operations and IT infrastructure. Systar is widely regarded as the leading provider of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) solutions and offers innovative capacity management software for both physical and virtual server environments. Systar is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN: FR0000052854-SAR), and has offices in North America and Europe. More information about Systar is available at www.systar.com.
Systar, BusinessBridge, OmniVision, BusinessVision, ServiceVision, WideVision and Systar’s logo are registered trademarks of Systar. All other brand names, product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
For Viewpointe
Loretta Mock/Paul Damon
646-395-6300
viewpointe@cognitomedia.com
For Systar
Bo O’Dea
703-589-2682
bo.odea@systar.com
October 20, 2010
VIEWPOINTE marks fifth year on the Fintech 100
New York, New York — October 20, 2010 — Viewpointe®, a leading provider of electronic content management and exchange solutions and services, is marking its fifth consecutive year on the FinTech100, an annual international listing of the top vertical technology vendors that derive more than one-third of their revenue from this industry as named by American Banker, Bank Technology News and IDC Financial Insights.
A gauge of Viewpointe’s success, the company continues to be recognized for its contributions to cost-effective and innovative solutions to financial institutions through its records management and digital storage services, end-to-end image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services.
“Viewpointe's repeat ranking among the top 100 financial technology providers demonstrates a growing importance of electronic document archiving as well as exchange services over the past five years,” said Aaron McPherson, Practice Director at IDC Financial Insights and a member of the FinTech 100 research team. “As Viewpointe continues to explore a cloud storage service offering, it is creating new opportunities for financial institutions to innovate their services.”
The past year marked another successful term for the company. Among the highlights, Viewpointe has seen substantial growth for its image exchange service, Pointe2Pointe®, with a particular uptick in regional banks, credit unions and credit union cooperatives, which are looking to enhance their customer and member services with a secure, cost-effective and efficient means of exchanging check images.
The company has also continued to provide thought leadership on electronic storage and commissioned a white paper looking at the relative benefits of off-site electronic data storage for institutions.
“We are very pleased to be recognized as a leading firm in the competitive world of financial technology,” said Lou Buglioli, Viewpointe chairman and chief executive officer. “The last five years have marked a period of major change for our customers and we have been pleased to be there to help them gain greater efficiencies and controls. We remain focused on innovative solutions in data management and exchange to meet our customers’ needs in a changing marketplace.”
For more information about the rankings, visit www.financial-insights.com/fintech. To view the FinTech Special report, visit www.AmericanBanker.com/fintech100
About VIEWPOINTE
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://viewpointe.com/.
Media Contacts:
Loretta Mock/Paul Damon
viewpointe@cognitomedia.com
646-395-6300
June 28, 2010
Anita Driscoll becomes Director, ECCHO Payments. Anita has 18 years of progressive banking experience which is complemented by a Bachelor's degree and a certification in Product Management. She is a proven business leader and strategest with a record of establishing profitable, high performance operations. She is regarded for the ability to enhance and standardize processes, provide tactical planning and direction to large-scale initiatives, and resolve complex business and operational challenges. She has cross-functional leadership expertise in new product development, special projects, strategic partnerships and operations management. She has served on numerous industry committees and is a member of several industry groups.
June 21, 2010
ECCHO welcomes James Berry as its Senior Accountant. James has over 12 years of progressive accounting experience as well as an Associates degree in Business Administration.
June 7, 2010
ECCHO is pleased to welcome Jennifer “Jenny” Johnson as its newest employee. Jennifer has accepted the position of Director, SO Relationships. Jennifer served most recently as the Senior Vice President/Senior Expert for McKinsey & Company (formerly Global Concepts) where she developed her banking expertise over an 18 year period. Prior to this she was a Senior Internal Systems Auditor and Programmer for 10 years. Jennifer has diverse experience in check, card, ACH, cash, and treasury services and an established reputation for working on the forefront of developments in the payments industry. She is recognized for creating long-term client relationships and fostering networking across the industry and has been instrumental in creating and managing industry conferences. She is a leader in the field of consulting engagements to create client solutions; primarily in payment operations.
May 18, 2010
Electronic Data Storage - A Perfect Storm Of Operational Challenges
-Creation and duplication of electronic data doubles every 18 months
-Recent white paper reveals startling cost factors and risks related to onsite electronic storage
NEW YORK, May 18, 2010 - Viewpointe®, a leading provider of enterprise electronic data archive solutions, today announced the publication of a white paper highlighting the new realities facing enterprises and their mounting electronic storage needs. Viewpointe commissioned the paper, entitled "The Promise of Offsite Electronic Storage" as part of the company's ongoing commitment to provide useful and relevant information to those affected by electronic storage issues, ranging from CIOs and CFOs to heads of compliance and legal departments. The paper was authored by Brad Nisbet, program manager at IDC, a leading provider of global IT research and advice.
IDC estimates that worldwide the amount of electronic content created and replicated, by consumers and enterprises, doubles every 18 months. This unprecedented growth of electronic content has taken on new urgency for enterprises as they cope with these storage challenges, while infrastructure budgets get increasingly tighter. Within the context of these challenges, the paper reviews the cost factors and risks associated with the two primary solutions for e-storage: enterprise-built and run (onsite) and hosted repository (offsite). In providing detailed information on these two options, the paper gives enterprises the guidelines they need to select an appropriate solution.
Ultimately, maintaining onsite e-storage, which requires firms to invest in IT infrastructure, while budgets get tighter, is becoming an impossible challenge for many firms," said Rich Walsh, president, Viewpointe Document Archive and Repository Services. "Companies need to understand current and expected costs and risk burdens related to e-storage. We're helping companies evaluate the key factors involved, some of which they may not have considered previously."
According to the paper, further challenges are arising as organizations are looking to manage the growing and variable data retention requirements being driven by the need for business analytics, as well as increased regulatory requirements.
Among other factors, complying with government-imposed regulations could increase companies' storage costs and risks," said Mr. Nisbet. "Fines for noncompliance, payments to third-parties to ensure compliance, as well as reputational risks arising from noncompliance, data breaches or other data-related disasters could all contribute to these costs."
Companies looking to develop or expand their electronic storage capacity are looking at hard costs for items including: storage systems, storage networking, applications and software, professional services, server infrastructure and datacenter facilities. Usually, these expenditures are made well in advance of actual use, since enterprises must build for future e-storage. Storage utilization rates for most enterprises are often less than 40 percent, creating a mismatch between the expense and the actual implementation. Added to capital costs, are operational expenditures, which include power and cooling, as well as support and maintenance. Costs to power and cool IT equipment, which accounted for approximately 8 percent of datacenter costs in 2000, are expected to grow to 21 percent by 2012.
The paper finds that offsite e-storage can reduce the inefficiency and unpredictability of capital and maintenance costs, because it allows enterprises to pay only for the actual capacity they currently need, as opposed to an in-house infrastructure that is built for potential future needs. Third-party pay-as-you go solutions transfer the burden of utilization to the service provider.
Other findings on the benefits of offsite storage include:
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The natural consolidation of multiple archives into fewer archives, reducing cost while enabling greater efficiencies for control, management and data sharing.
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Transfer of the costs and complexities associated with protecting data to the storage provider.
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Management of digital information is transferred to the service provider, thus allowing compliance, search, business analytics and other information management to be facilitated at a much lower cost to the organization.
Ultimately, an offsite hosted repository offers companies a secure, scalable, accessible and cost-effective alternative," added Walsh. "Viewpointe has a reputation for the highest standards, focusing on customer requirements, risk management and data security and we continue to work closely with our customers to mitigate data storage issues."
Viewpointe's archive was architected and built in 2000 from the ground up to be a best-in-class offsite solution for e-content storage and retrieval. Well known as a check archive, and trusted by some of the largest financial institutions in the U.S., the Viewpointe archive infrastructure extended its storage and retrieval expertise beyond check to address other electronic data storage needs. Viewpointe's archive capacity of more than 20 petabytes is roughly equivalent to 554 billion pages of web content. Since 2002, Viewpointe's archive has grown from 10 billion images in 2002, to a total of more than 151 billion electronic items (*as of January 31, 2010).
About Viewpointe
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://viewpointe.com/.
Media Contacts:
Loretta Mock/Paul Damon
+1 646-395-6300
viewpointe@cognitomedia.com
To download a copy of the white paper, please visit: http://www.viewpointe.com/offsitestorage
IDC White Paper sponsored by Viewpointe, The Promise of Offsite Electronic Storage, Doc # 221441, December 2009
February 25, 2010
Financial Regulators Release Updated Retail Payment Systems Booklet
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today issued updated guidance for examiners, financial institutions, and technology service providers on the risks associated with retail payment systems. This Retail Payment Systems Booklet, which is part of the FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook series, is an update to the 2004 version that provided guidance on the risks and risk-management practices applicable to financial institutions’ retail payment systems activities, including checks, electronic payments related to credit cards and debit cards, and the automated clearing house (ACH). Appendices to this booklet include examination procedures and references to applicable laws, regulations, and guidance.
The revised booklet addresses changes in technology and provides guidance on the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act of 2004. This booklet also provides expanded guidance on merchant card processing and ACH activities. It provides a more in-depth discussion of the increased risks posed by these activities and some of the risk management tools that financial institutions can use to mitigate them. There is also a brief discussion on emerging technologies in retail payment systems. The booklet includes information on remotely created checks and electronically created payment orders, both of which are being used more frequently as payment devices. Lastly, the booklet addresses remote deposit capture and provides examination procedures for use in conjunction with the FFIEC guidance, Risk Management of Remote Deposit Capture (January 14, 2009).
The FFIEC IT Examination Handbook is produced by the Information Technology Subcommittee of the FFIEC’s Task Force on Supervision. The Information Technology Subcommittee promotes uniform and effective information technology-related policies and supervisory programs for financial institutions and their service providers. An electronic version of the Retail Payment Systems Booklet, as well as the entire FFIEC IT Examination Handbook Series, is available at http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/html_pages/it_01.html.
Media Contacts:
|
Federal Reserve |
Susan Stawick |
(202) 452-2955 |
|
FDIC |
David Barr |
(202) 898-6992
|
|
NCUA |
Cherie Umbel |
(703) 518-6337 |
|
OCC |
Dean DeBuck
|
(202) 874-5770 |
|
OTS |
William Ruberry
|
(202) 906-6677
|
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FFIEC's State Liaison Committee |
Catherine Woody |
(202) 728-5733 |
November 17, 2009
Digital Checks as Electronic Payment Orders
This paper explores the potential for a new type of electronic payment order (EPO), in the form of an entirely digital check. http://www.chicagofed.org/webpages/publications/policy_discussion_papers/2009/pdp_5.cfm
November 12, 2009
CheckImage Collaborative Introduces Enhancements to Interoperability Standards for Check Image File Formats
Dallas — November 12, 2009 — The CheckImage Collaborative today announced the creation of an enhanced Universal Companion Document (UCD) for X9.100-187-2008. The UCD was developed by the CheckImage Collaborative’s Image Quality Work Group with input from a wide range of financial institutions as well as major image exchange providers.
X9.100-187-2008 is the successor of DSTU X9.37-2003. This standard is interoperable with DSTU X9.37-2003 and will ultimately replace the DSTU as the base standard for image exchange within the US payments system. The UCD will further enhance the flexibility and interoperability benefits of the X9.100-187-2008 standard. Currently, each image provider is required to develop its own unique companion document to implement the standard for its service offerings. By replacing this wide spectrum of differing documents, with one universal document, the UCD streamlines process and makes interoperability between various network providers significantly easier and more efficient. Any unique functions a provider might offer are included in the UCD as exceptions.
Endpoint Exchange, SVPCO and Viewpointe have announced plans to implement the UCD by the end of 2010. The Federal Reserve Banks have not yet established a production date for the UCD but plan to monitor customer test results and industry adoption to ensure all participants are prepared for live implementation.
A previous version of the UCD was released in 2008. A key priority of the development process for the 2009 iteration of the UCD was ensuring a simple and efficient transition between the earlier and new versions. No changes need to be made by organization that already programmed for the 2008 UCD.
For organizations that have not yet programmed for either version of the UCD, some programming may be required for interoperability with the various image exchange networks once those networks have implemented UCD for X9.100-187-2008. The additional programming, if required, will provide for additional return codes, new fields to facilitate image exchange and validation of certain fields that may not have been previously validated. A copy of the UCD is available at http://www.checkimagecentral.org/pdf/UCD%20X9%20100-187-2008%20Final.pdf
About CheckImage Collaborative
The CheckImage Collaborative is comprised of representatives from trade associations and financial organizations. The group was formed in early 2005 to identify and share information on check image clearing that will help financial institutions understand and successfully implement image exchange.
About Federal Reserve Financial Services
The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. In addition to their role in monetary policy and banking supervision, each Federal Reserve Bank acts as a bank for banks and for the government.
The Federal Reserve Banks provide financial services to depository institutions including banks, credit unions, and savings and loans, much like those that banks provide for their customers. These services include collecting checks, electronically transferring funds, and distributing and receiving cash and coin. Additionally, the Federal Reserve acts as a fiscal agent or bank to the federal government by providing financial services to the United States Department of Treasury and by selling and redeeming government securities such as Savings Bonds and Treasury bills.
For more information, please visit Federal Reserve Financial Services.
About ECCHO
ECCHO (Electronic Check Clearing House Organization) is a not-for-profit national clearing house that provides image exchange rules for private sector exchanges. Membership in ECCHO is available to every financial institution and current membership totals more than 1,900 financial institutions ranging in size from community banks and credit unions to the largest banks in the country. Additional information regarding ECCHO is available at www.ECCHO.org.
Media Contact:
David Walker, President & CEO, 214-273-3201, dwalker@eccho.org
About The Clearing House and SVPCO Image Payments Network
The Clearing House is a private-sector, global payments systems infrastructure that clears and settles more than 60 million payments for $1.6 trillion per day. The Clearing House serves more than 1.500 U.S. financial institutions and hundreds of international participants through its wire transfer (CHIPS), ACH (EPN) and check image exchange (SVPCO). SVPCO (www.svpco.com) is a leading check image exchange that connects more than 10,000 endpoints and major exchanges through a unique network that's designed to route check images in the most direct and efficient way possible. For more information, visit www.theclearinghouse.org.
About Endpoint Exchange
Endpoint Exchange, an FIS company, is the country’s first electronic check-clearing network that enables U.S. financial institutions to clear their check-based transactions by exchanging check images between member institutions. Endpoint Exchange is a part of the FIS suite of image-capture solutions. FIS delivers banking and payments technologies to more than 14,000 financial institutions and businesses in more than 90 countries worldwide.
About Viewpointe
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, at http://www.viewpointe.com/.
September 30, 2009
VIEWPOINTE USERS GROUP RECOMMENDS ADOPTION OF UCD CHECK IMAGE FILE STANDARD
Compliance timeline calls for full adoption by end of 3Q10
NEW YORK — September 30, 2009 —Viewpointe®, a leading provider of check image exchange and archive services, announced today that Viewpointe’s User Group (VPUG) has voted to recommend adoption of the Universal Companion Document (UCD) for X9.100-187-2008 as well as a timeline for compliance with the UCD. This UCD was published in 2009 by the CheckImage Collaborative as a uniform industry approach for populating and validating check image files.
“This is an important next step in the process of reducing the inconsistent application of the standard for the exchange of check images,” said Glenn Wheeler, president, Viewpointe Clearing Settlement and Associations Services (VPCS&AS). “By adopting this common file structure, financial institutions could potentially manage only one file type when exchanging images with multiple UCD-compliant image exchange networks.”
The Viewpointe Users Group, comprised of representatives from across the Viewpointe archive and exchange customer base, recommended the approval of UCD adoption on September 15, 2009. Upon approval of the VPCS&AS Operating Committee, VPUG anticipates the following timeline for UCD compliance:
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Viewpointe clearing customers will have the option to exchange UCD-compliant files starting March 29, 2010.
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Viewpointe customers will be required to support sending and receiving UCD-compliant files on September 27, 2010.
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Viewpointe partners that prefer to exchange with each other without the format will be permitted to do so on an exception basis provided there is a written agreement in place.
“The recommended adoption of the UCD by the Viewpointe Users Group demonstrates a strong commitment to increase industry interoperability for image exchange participants,” said Steve Cree, vice president, Sterling Savings Bank and VPUG chairman. “With the majority of checks moving in image-based exchanges, the need to further refine the current standard is underscored.”
One of the biggest obstacles to true interoperability has been the adoption of a standard check image file format. The UCD establishes a consistent approach for all industry participants to use when processing check image files in an effort to address those ongoing interoperability issues.
“This move is great for the industry,” said David Walker, President and CEO, ECCHO. “By reducing the inconsistencies in the exchange of check images, we are advancing an efficient check payment system.”
The CheckImage Collaborative, initiated by ECCHO and the Retail Payments Office (RPO) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is comprised of representatives of trade and financial organizations throughout the U.S. A copy of the UCD is available through at the CheckImage Collaborative at http://www.checkimagecentral.org/ucd/
“Viewpointe has been committed to interoperability and is supportive of our user group’s move to adopt this standard,” said corporate spokesperson Diane Scott, president, Viewpointe Emerging Business. “By reinforcing greater uniformity and efficiency, we are maximizing the value of the check payment system while moving one step closer to full check electronification.”
ABOUT VIEWPOINTE
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://www.viewpointe.com/.
Media Contacts:
Paul Kelash Weber Shandwick
952-346-6253
pkelash@webershandwick.com
David Boxum
Weber Shandwick
952-346-6147
dboxum@webershandwick.com
August 31, 2009
FRB Services Announcement on Collection of State of California Registered Warrants
California State Registered Warrants
California Registered Warrants will be redeemed beginning September 4, 2009. The Validation and Redemption 07-07-09 document below will be helpful. A supplemental advisory was prepared by Ted Kitada, Senior Company Counsel, for Wells Fargo Bank, NA that should also be helpful in answering outstanding concerns.
July 9, 2009
California State Registered Warrants
Documents
Presentation on California State Warrants – “Show Me the Money” (pdf)
Validation and Redemption Process 07-07-09 (pdf)
FRB, OCC and Regulatory Communications from 1992 (pdf)
Sample Registered Warrant (pdf)
Links
State of California Controller’s Website
http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo_news_registeredwarrants.html
FRB Services Announcement dated July 2, 2009 http://www.frbservices.org/files/communications/pdf/check/070209_cali_warrants.pdf
Federal Reserve Board of Governors Press Release dated July 2, 2009 http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20090702b.htm
FDIC Interagency Statement dated July 8, 2009
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2009/fil09041.html
SEC Staff Statement on California IOUs dated July 8, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-154.htm
California State Treasurer
http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/warrants/index.asp
May 14, 2009
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS SELECT VIEWPOINTE FOR THEIR CHECK IMAGE ARCHIVE
Viewpointe’s state-of-the-art technology chosen to help the Federal Reserve Banks
continue offering customers efficient, high-quality payments services
NEW YORK — May 14, 2009 —Viewpointe®, a leading provider of check image exchange and archive services, announced today that the Federal Reserve Banks have signed an agreement to store their check images with Viewpointe.
As a Viewpointe archive user, the Federal Reserve Banks are the latest to join several of the nation’s largest institutions in having access to one of the most robust common archives in the industry. The Reserve Banks’ archive currently contains nearly 10 billion check images and serves more than 1,000 financial institution customers. Their check image volume will substantially increase Viewpointe’s current archive volume of more than 127.8 billion images stored, solidifying it as a truly national, trusted archive.
“The decision to move the storage of check images to Viewpointe is consistent with other efforts in recent years to reduce our check infrastructure costs and maintain long-term viability,” said Fred Herr, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “This move allows us to offer our customers state-of-the-art storage technology, reliability and resiliency.”
Viewpointe worked closely with the Reserve Banks to develop a plan that would benefit the Reserve Banks and offer a transparent transition to their customers. Moving the storage of images in the FedImage® archive to Viewpointe will be seamless to customers and will take place over the next 18 months.
“We’re proud that the Reserve Banks made this decision to trust us with this important function,” said Lou Buglioli, Viewpointe chairman and CEO. “It speaks to our proven track record for the highest standards related to customer requirements, risk management and data security.”
Organizations are strategically responding to cost challenges in this difficult economic
environment. For many of the nation’s leading financial institutions, Viewpointe has become the national trusted archive, containing billions of sensitive e-documents. By choosing a solution such as Viewpointe’s, financial institutions can share infrastructure costs and store and retrieve valuable payments data in a reliable and secure way.
“The Reserve Banks’ decision is consistent with how organizations are strategically responding to cost challenges in this difficult economic environment,” said Diane Scott, president, Viewpointe Emerging Business. “With its shared infrastructure, the Viewpointe archive allows the Reserve Banks to share fixed costs among multiple financial institutions instead of singlehandedly absorbing the total cost of archiving.”
ABOUT VIEWPOINTE
Viewpointe® is a leading provider of multibank infrastructure solutions for customers ranging from credit unions to Fortune 100 financial institutions. With one of the largest national archives of check images and information, Viewpointe offers archive capabilities, end-to-end check image exchange clearing and settlement and Automated Clearing House association services. Bank Technology News named Viewpointe one of the top innovators of 2008, an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in financial services. Since 2006, Viewpointe has been named to the prestigious FinTech 100, representing the best of the best in financial technology and service providers. For more information, please visit http://www.viewpointe.com/.
ABOUT THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS
The Federal Reserve Banks offer a full range of financial services including FedCash®, Check including FedForward®, FedReturn® and FedReceipt®, FedImage® Services, FedACH®, Fedwire ® Funds Service, Fedwire Securities Service and National Settlement Service. In addition, the Federal Reserve Banks offer services designed to support the use of Financial Services, including Account Management Information
and Service Charge Information. Complete product and service information can be found at FRBservices.org.
Media Contacts:
For Viewpointe:
Paul Kelash
Weber Shandwick
952-346-6253
pkelash@webershandwick.com
David Boxum
Weber Shandwick
952-346-6147
dboxum@webershandwick.com
For the Federal Reserve Banks:
David Fettig
612-204-5274
david.fettig@mpls.frb.org
November 6, 2008
ECCHO welcomes Michelle Hasan as its Office Coordinator. Michelle brings 12 years of experience in progressive business administration, events and operations management. She has a Bachelors of Arts degree from Brooks Institute.
July 6, 2006
ECCHO hires Stephanie Morrow as Office Coordinator. ECCHO is excited about this new addition to their office team. Stephanie brings to ECCHO 8 years human resources, accounting, events and general office experience. Stephanie's primary focus is on administration of the Dallas office including A/R, A/P and vendor relations. You may reach her at 214-273-3210 or smorrow@eccho.org.
June 30, 2006
ECCHO hires Ellen Heffner as Director of Product Management. ECCHO is pleased to announce the addition of another key employee. Ellen adds to ECCHO's experience base more then twenty years in Product Management through previous positions across the banking industry including past positions with Bank of America’s predecessor organizations and most recently, in group management and operations roles within Carreker Corporation. Ellen's initial and primary focus will be to provide educational support for the expanding ECCHO membership base working with and through the Sponsoring Organizations to provide information on ECCHO rules and membership opportunities to Sponsored Members. Ellen can be reached at 214-273-3211 or eheffner@eccho.org.
June 21, 2005
Image Exchange to Adopt ECCHO Rule Set
Birmingham, AL (June 21, 2005) Image Exchange LLC (www.imageexchange.net) today announced that they have adopted the check image exchange rules established by industry-leader Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO).
ECCHO has been actively involved in the development of rules using electronics to facilitate a more efficient check payment system. Existing paper check law includes large volumes of statutory, regulatory and case law to govern the exchange of paper checks. There is however no law to govern the exchange of check images. Without ECCHO’s rules, institutions exchanging images would assume an indeterminate amount of risk. ECCHO’s rules address this deficiency in check law by providing a common, multilateral agreement among the members.
Image Exchange’s agreement with ECCHO ensures that when its customers exchange check images through Image Exchange’s iXchange system they will be covered by clearinghouse rules that are the accepted industry standard.
“Everyday it is increasingly apparent that many banks are making commitments to exchanging check images,” said David Walker, president of ECCHO. “Banks can see the strategic value of image-based check truncation and are moving forward. ECCHO is very pleased to be working with Image Exchange to bring additional value to its customers.”
“The process of exchanging electronic check images is an ever-evolving one,” said Russell Lloyd, vice president of Image Exchange. “By partnering with such a respected and established organization as ECCHO, Image Exchange members will have access to proven, well-planned exchange guidelines that not only facilitate the exchange process itself, but pave the way for broader acceptance and expansion of the exchange of images across the United States.”
About ECCHO
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is to fill the legal void created by mixing paper checks with electronics such as in the exchange of check images. ECCHO has also been recognized and is supported by many organizations as the national provider or ECP and image exchange rules. Membership in ECCHO is available to every depository financial institution. Current members hold deposits of approximately $2.9 trillion. Additional information on ECCHO can be found at www.eccho.org.
About Image Exchange
Image Exchange LLC provides methods for electronic check clearing through its iXchange solution, which contains features for forward, return, adjustments, and settlement tracking. It is an affiliate company of Brasfield Technology, LLC. Brasfield Technology, LLC develops cutting-edge technology for the financial services marketplace. Current solutions include Internet banking, telephone banking, digital surveillance, information systems security and more. Brasfield Data Services, LLC is also an affiliate company of Brasfield Technology. Its goal is to provide community banks with quality data processing services and world-class customer service. Image Centre LLC, another Brasfield affiliate, provides a browser-based, outsourced, check and document imaging solution. For more information on Image Exchange or its other affiliates, please visit www.imageexchange.net or www.brasfieldtech.com or contact Karly Field at 205.408.6900 or kfield@brasfieldtech.com.
For Immediate Release
For More Information Contact:
Russell Lloyd
Image Exchange LLC
205.981.4253
rlloyd@brasfieldtech.com
July 24, 2005
ECCHO hires Scott Miller as Director of Business Development. ECCHO is pleased to announce the addition of another key employee. Scott adds to ECCHO's experience base more then twenty years experience in bank operations and marketing through his previous positions with the Helena Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Scott's initial and primary focus will be the expansion of ECCHO's membership base to many institutions of all sizes. Contact email smiller@eccho.org or telephone 406-457-5487.
March 23, 2005
Endpoint Selects ECCHO Rules
OKLAHOMA CITY, March 23, 2005 - Metavante Corporation today announced that The Endpoint Exchange Network has endorsed and will adopt the check image exchange rules established by the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO).
ECCHO took the lead in representing the industry's interests in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive set of image exchange rules. These rules facilitate the transition to a more efficient check payment system and every depository institution is eligible for membership in ECCHO.
ECCHO is recognized and is supported as the national provider of clearing house rules for electronic check presentment and check image exchange by leading financial services trade associations, clearing houses, and data processors.
With this announcement, more than 4,000 Endpoint Exchange Network member institutions will be eligible to exchange checks under the ECCHO rule set in accordance with the sponsorship agreement. Endpoint Exchange Network member institutions can leverage ECCHO membership to insure collection and settlement of electronic cash letters is controlled by a single, standard, national rule set.
"This agreement between ECCHO and the Endpoint Exchange Network is a key step in achieving the universal exchange of check images across the U.S. We anticipate that Endpoint's decision to become a sponsoring organization, will hasten the achievement of that objective. We are very pleased with our new relationship with the Endpoint Exchange Network," said David Walker, ECCHO president.
"The ECCHO rules are the accepted industry standard for check image exchange," said Mark Craig, general manager of CheckClear LLC, which operates the Endpoint Exchange Network. "Our member institutions will benefit from common image exchange rules and also from ECCHO's leadership since 1990 to eliminate legal barriers to use technology to enhance check payments."
According to industry analysts, check image exchange is expected to increase significantly over the next few years as paper check volumes continue to decline. Check image exchange provides faster clearing and settlement, reduced float, narrowing the window for check fraud and a significant reduction in the transportation infrastructure needed to move paper checks.
About ECCHO
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is to fill the legal void created by mixing paper checks with electronics such as in the exchange of check images. ECCHO has also been recognized and is supported by many organizations as the national provider of ECP and image exchange rules. Membership in ECCHO is available to every depository financial institution. Current members hold deposits of approximately $2.9 trillion. Additional information about ECCHO can be found at www.eccho.org.
About the Endpoint Exchange Network
The Endpoint Exchange Network enables U.S. financial institutions to clear their check-based transactions by allowing for the exchange of check images between member institutions. The Endpoint Exchange Network is the country's first electronic check-clearing network that capitalizes on existing imaging infrastructure and settlement relationships, with the interoperability to connect to every endpoint in the nation. CheckClear LLC, a Metavante company, operates the Endpoint Exchange Network, www.endpointexchange.com.
About Metavante
Metavante Corporation is a leading provider of image-based check processing and distributed image-capture solutions through its companies, which include the Endpoint Exchange Network, Advanced Financial Solutions (AFS), and VECTORsgi. Metavante delivers banking and payment technologies to financial services firms and businesses worldwide. Metavante products and services drive account processing for deposit, loan and trust systems, image-based and conventional check processing, electronic funds transfer, and electronic presentment and payment. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Metavante (www.metavante.com) is wholly owned by Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI).
For Further Information Contact:
The Endpoint Exchange Network
Sam Kim
678-533-4861
sam.kim@metavante.com
ECCHO (Electronic Check Clearing House Organization)
David Walker
214-273-3200
dwalker@eccho.org
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December 28, 2003
ECCHO Hires Elizabeth Westbrook as Office Manager and Meeting Planner (becomes Director, Member Services in August 2006). Elizabeth brings over 20 years experience in Project Management, Office Management, Customer Service, Event planning, and Accounting to the ECCHO team. Elizabeth can be reached at 214-273-3203 or ewestbrook@eccho.org.
June 11, 2002
Sterling Commerce Endorses ECCHO Initiatives To Standardize ECP and Image Exchange
Addison, Texas – June 11, 2002 – Sterling Commerce’s Banking Systems Division, a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and a worldwide leading provider of banking transaction applications, has announced its support for the standardization of electronic check presentment (ECP) and image exchange rules. As a result, it is endorsing efforts undertaken by the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) to support and provide ECP and image exchange rules in the United States.
“Because of their expertise and reach, ECCHO is certainly the logical organization to establish these much-needed standards,” said William Hymes, President of Sterling Commerce’s Banking Systems Division. “We at Sterling Commerce pledge our full support to ECCHO as they spearhead development of these rules.”
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of ECP. ECCHO also has been endorsed by the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) as the national provider of ECP rules.
“It’s very gratifying to gain the endorsement of Sterling Commerce,” said David Walker, President of ECCHO. “As a major provider of transaction processing solutions, Sterling Commerce’s participation can only help to solidify our position as the ‘de facto’ standards-setter for ECP and image exchange rules.”
Sterling Commerce endorses ECCHO initiatives/add one
Sterling Commerce’s VECTOR Solutions are completely image-enabled and include the industry’s premier check image capture software. For example, Sterling Commerce’s Check Management Solution is a common capture platform for all check image processing requirements. Banks using this solution can perform local or remote prime pass image capture on a variety of hardware platforms; can capture incoming return item images; and image capture and encode the outgoing bank-of-first-deposit items. The VECTOR Check Management Solution also includes an image archive interface, allowing the archiving of images within minutes of capture for viewing via Internet services or enterprise intranet-based applications.
Similarly, Sterling Commerce’s VECTOR ECP Solution is totally image-ready, allowing banks to send and receive image cash letters, as well as view images of an item during ECP reconcilement.
“The VECTOR ECP Solution is the leading ECP solution for the largest U.S. banking institutions,” said Sydney Smith Hicks, vice president, Operations and Business Development, Sterling Commerce Banking Systems Division, and an early board member of ECCHO. “More than 45 percent of today’s ECP items presented through the nation’s primary exchange channel are originated by VECTOR. With image-presentment, the solution becomes even more powerful.”
The ECP Solution also is designed to help facilitate the transition to image exchange. In fact, an interface with the company’s VECTOR Exceptions Solution allows banks to receive and process a file, identify exception items, and process exceptions via image, without paper being exchanged.
“The movement to ECP and image exchange is an evolutionary process, but without standardization, the process is very slow and needlessly expensive,” Hymes said. “We’ve seen that in the past when ACH was just getting off the ground, and again when EDI was introduced. With these past lessons in mind, it’s clear that now is the time for the industry to adopt standards for ECP and image exchange rules, early enough to facilitate broader acceptance of image exchange. That way, banks can realize the cost-reduction benefits associated with image processing over paper handling much more quickly.”
Sterling Commerce’s Banking Systems Division Advances/add two
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of electronic check presentment (ECP). ECCHO member bank’s holding companies hold deposits of approximately $2.1 trillion. Membership in ECCHO is available to all depository financial institutions regardless of size. Currently ECCHO members include banks whose deposit size is less than $100 million and banks whose deposit size is greater than $350 billion. ECCHO has also been endorsed by the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) as the national provider of ECP rules and ECCHO has licensed the use of its rules to the Small Value Payments Company, L.L.C. (SVPCo).
Sterling Commerce is one of the world’s largest providers of business-to-business commerce solutions. For Global 5000 companies and their customers, suppliers and partners, Sterling Commerce software and services help maximize business performance and improve business metrics through integration of applications, external partner systems and people. With more than 30 years of experience serving tens of thousands of customers in a vast range of industries, Sterling Commerce is a recognized pioneer in business-to-business commerce through its longstanding expertise in EDI. The company’s Banking Systems Division provides financial transaction processing, currency control, reconciliation, and e-commerce solutions for financial institutions and their customers, around the world. Today, as customers explore new ways to improve business performance via the Internet, Sterling Commerce continues to innovate its software and services to further the global adoption of e-commerce while offering its customers strategic solutions that leverage existing technology. For more information, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com.
SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is one of the world’s leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its world-class network and its subsidiaries’ trusted brands – SBC Southwestern Bell, SBC Ameritech, SBC Pacific Bell, SBC Nevada Bell, SBC SNET and Sterling Commerce – SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 27 company, America’s leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet Access services, and one of the nation’s leading Internet Service Providers, SBC companies currently serve nearly 60 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC owns 60 percent of America’s second largest wireless company -- Cingular Wireless -- which serves more than 21 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in 28 countries.
All products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information about ECCHO, its check electronification vision or membership in ECCHO, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709. Also visit ECCHO's web site at www.eccho.org for additional educational information.
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December 11, 2000
ECCHO Hires Walker and Meyerson
Dallas, TX, December 11, 2000 - Beginning April 2001, the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) will enter a new era with its own employees and facilities in Dallas, Texas. During ECCHO's first ten years it has relied on the Carreker Corporation for its facilities, staffing and administration. "With the passage of time and the maturation of the organization, ECCHO has selected this as the time to stand on its own," said William Christensen, Chairman of ECCHO and Executive Vice President, Union Bank of California. The banking industry is moving rapidly to implement check electronification initiatives and ECCHO is providing leadership in the transition to electronic check payments
In 1989 Denny Carreker, Chairman and CEO, Carreker Corporation, lead the initiative that culminated in the creation of ECCHO in 1990. During the first eight years, he served as ECCHO's Executive Director and provided the leadership and vision for the new check electronification initiative know as electronic check presentment (ECP). "Without Denny's early leadership, ECCHO would not have been formed nor would it have been successful", according to John Spencer, Secretary/Treasurer, ECCHO and Executive Vice President, Frost Bank.
ECCHO member banks currently are exchanging approximately 1.5 billion checks a year with a value of approximately $2.3 trillion through ECP processes. In addition to its ECP rules, ECCHO has adopted rules to support check truncation and, in conjunction with the Financial Services Technology Consortium, rules to support electronic checks and check image exchanges.
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of electronic check presentment (ECP). ECCHO member bank's holding companies hold deposits of approximately $1.7 trillion. Membership in ECCHO is available to all depository financial institutions regardless of size. Currently ECCHO members include banks whose deposit size is less than $100 million and banks whose deposit size is greater than $350 billion. ECCHO has also been endorsed by the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) as the national provider of ECP rules and ECCHO has licensed the use of its rules to the Small Value Payments Company, L.L.C. (SVPCo).
For more information about ECCHO, its check electronification vision or membership in ECCHO, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709. Also visit ECCHO's web site at www.eccho.org for additional educational information.
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February 24, 1999
Any Bank can Afford ECCHO Membership: Membership Cost as Little as $100 per Year
(Dallas, Texas, February 24, 1999) -- At its regularly scheduled meeting in February, the ECCHO (Electronic Check Clearing House Organization) Board of Directors approved a new membership class allowing banks to join ECCHO for as little as $100 per year. Now any depository financial institution, as defined by the Federal Reserve Act, is eligible to join ECCHO and obtain the protections of ECCHO's rules. The ECCHO Board also selected the Independent Bankers Association of America (IBAA) as an approved sponsor of members under the new membership class.
The ECCHO Board of Directors created a new membership class called Sponsored Member with no initial fee. Other membership classes typically include a one-time initial fee and ongoing dues. While large and small Sponsored Members will pay ongoing dues at the same nominal rate, the actual amount they pay will vary with their deposit sizes. This will remove the financial barrier to membership for even the smallest banks. For example, at the current dues rate, a Sponsored Member with deposits of $2 billion would pay annual dues to ECCHO of $2,200 while a Sponsored Member with $91 million or less in deposits would pay only $100 (the minimum amount).
Banks joining ECCHO as Sponsored Members will work through a sponsoring organization such as the IBAA. For example, those banks that are members of the IBAA that elect to join ECCHO will continue their relationship with the IBAA while gaining ECCHO's rules coverage through their IBAA association.
Through this action, ECCHO took another important step toward the achievement of its vision. That vision includes: 1) working with other industry groups to promote the rapid acceptance and implementation of ECP, 2) providing value to banks through improved earnings on the order of $2-3 billion per year from short-term activities and 3) positioning the banking industry for significant long-term earnings improvement from check electronification.
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of electronic check presentment (ECP). ECCHO member bank's holding companies hold deposits of approximately $2.4 trillion. ECCHO has also been endorsed by the Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) as the national provider of ECP rules.
For more information about ECCHO, its check electronification vision or membership in ECCHO, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709.
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January 6, 1999
BITS Endorses ECCHO as the Private-sector National-level Rules Making Body for ECP and SVPCo as the Coordination Point for Multi-Lateral ECP for the Banking Industry: Move towards electronification of checks means cost effective, efficient payments
(Washington, DC, January 6, 1999) -- The Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) today announced its endorsement of the work being done by the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) and the Small Value Payments Company (SVPCo) to further the use of Electronic Check Presentment (ECP). This is the first in a series of announcements BITS will be making in the weeks ahead concerning its efforts to facilitate the development of open, interoperable, and rules-based electronic commerce and banking in a manner that benefits the banking industry and its customers.
According to Austin Adams, Executive Vice President of First Union, and Co-Chair of the BITS Industry Infrastructure Steering Committee, "BITS' endorsement of the work done by SVPCo and ECCHO represents a significant step forward for the banking industry. This type of collaboration is absolutely critical to our efforts to move the banking industry into the new world of more cost effective and efficient electronic payments -- a world where our customers and our shareholders will profit."
ECP is the forward presentment of check information (MICR line) captured at the collecting institution, and transmitted electronically to the paying institution, with paper to follow. ECP will provide significant savings for the industry in processing costs and will reduce the risk to banks from fraudulent items. BITS member banks are committed to implementing ECP as a first step toward the electronification of the check. BITS would like 50% of available checks processed with ECP by 2001.
The formation of SVPCo will aid significantly in achieving this goal. SVPCo was formed to facilitate the first standardized nationwide electronic exchange of checks. Until recently all ECP exchanges were done under bilateral agreements. Each additional bank that entered the process needed to make separate agreements with each exchange partner. SVPCo has developed the capability to do multilateral clearing and settlements for ECP.
ECCHO, which was formed in 1990, has been a champion for creating a national, standard set of rules for ECP. ECCHO, as a clearing house under the UCC, can modify certain aspects of the law. All parties with an interest in a check are bound by clearing house rules under which a transaction is exchanged. A standard set of rules will allow banks to exchange checks with institutions that belong to separate clearing houses. Earlier this year SVPCo agreed to adopt rules established by ECCHO further enabling the exchange of checks across clearing houses.
BITS recognizes that not all banks can participate in a clearing house and encourages ECCHO to work with the Federal Reserve and private sector organizations to facilitate a method by which all institutions can be covered by a standard set of rules.
The Independent Bankers Association of America (IBAA) is represented on the BITS Board of Directors. IBAA joins BITS in supporting the industry's move to an ECP environment; however, IBAA has not endorsed the ECCHO and SVPCo initiatives at this time, pending further review to determine the implications for small banks. In the meantime, IBAA is working on steps to implement ECP that are appropriate for small banks, assisted by BITS, ECCHO and The Federal Reserve.
The Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) was created to foster the growth and development of electronic banking and commerce in an open environment that will encourage greater choices in banking software, access devices, and the development of more efficient processing capabilities for the benefit of bank customers. BITS is a division of The Bankers Roundtable, an organization with a membership base of the largest 125 banks in the country.
The Small Value Payments Company L.L.C. (SVPCo) was formed in 1998 by twelve of the largest US banks to facilitate the first standardized nationwide multilateral electronic exchange of checks.
The Independent Bankers Association of America (IBAA) represents 5,500 independent community banks nationwide with more than 15,000 locations that hold nearly $375 billion in insured deposits, $445 billion in assets, and more than $240 billion in loans for consumers, small businesses and farms in communities they serve. Its consumer hotline is (888) 500-5338.
For more information, please contact :
BITS -- Catherine Allen, (202) 289-4322
ECCHO -- David Walker, (866) 440-4709
IBAA -- Viveca Ware, (202) 659-8111
SVPCo -- Hank Farrar, (212) 612-9300
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November 13, 1998
Banks Create Common ECP Rules Through Agreement Between SVPCo & ECCHO: Demonstrates Solid Support for ECP Through Common Rules
(New York and Dallas, November 13, 1998) The Boards of Directors of the Small Value Payments Company L.L.C. (SVPCo) and the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO) have agreed to share a common set of rules governing ECP nationwide. This agreement is the first time ECCHO has licensed its rules to another national organization and represents a significant, cooperative industry effort between a national rules organization and a national provider of ECP services to accelerate the acceptance and implementation of ECP exchanges.
"Members and participants of SVPCo and ECCHO will be able to exchange ECP files across clearinghouse membership boundaries. Thus members and participants of both organizations will benefit from the elimination of silos of rules sets and coverage limited to members of the same clearinghouse", said David Walker, Executive Director, ECCHO. "By licensing these rules, SVPCo moves one step closer to achieving its objective to electronify the check and rapidly create critical mass on a nationwide basis", according to Hank Farrar, Senior Vice President, SVPCo.
Together, ECCHO and SVPCo will create a comprehensive set of rules including a core set of ECP rules with supplemental rules as necessary to support specific product offerings by SVPCo and to accommodate unique geographic requirements. These rules will initially include SVPCo's national net settlement and paper check exchange rules, as well as geographic-specific deadlines for ECP file exchanges, return deadlines, adjustments, etc.
The Small Value Payments Company was created earlier this year by twelve of the largest U.S. banks and the New York Clearing House to facilitate the first standardized nationwide electronic exchange of checks. ECCHO is a national clearinghouse owned by its member banks whose vision is the creation of value through the electronification of the paper check. ECCHO member banks hold approximately 80% of the deposits of the top 100 U.S. banks.
For more information about ECCHO, its check electronification vision or membership in ECCHO, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709.
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April 16, 1998
Fleet Expands ECCHO Presence to become Full Member
(DALLAS, April 16, 1998) ECCHO (Electronic Check Clearing House Organization) is pleased to welcome Fleet National Bank as its newest Full Member. "We look forward to Fleet's expanded involvement in ECCHO", says Mr. David Walker, ECCHO's Executive Director. "This upgrade in Fleet's membership from Associate Member to Full Member makes the organization eligible to participate in our Operations Committee and participate on the ECCHO Board of Directors."
According to Hayden Watson, Managing Director of Bank Operations for Fleet, the bank has made a significant commitment to ECP starting with its New York processing center that anticipates beginning ECP production as early as this month. "Also, additional exchanges outside of New York are planned for the near future," he says. "We believe the success of ECP exchanges across a large geographic area requires membership in ECCHO, a national clearinghouse."
ECCHO is also pleased to be renewing its relationship with Mr. Watson. "He provided significant leadership during ECCHO's first six years." Says Mr. Walker. "As a former director and past president of ECCHO, Mr. Watson was a member of the task force that created the ECCHO vision. In addition, he participated in the development of ECCHO's four short-term vision initiatives."
"Becoming a full member of ECCHO appealed to Fleet because of its proven ability to rapidly develop and implement the rules necessary for banks to achieve ECP financial benefits," says Mr. Watson. "Beyond its leadership as the national rules organization, ECCHO has also demonstrated additional value through its support of other organization's projects that complement ECP, such as the FSTC's E-Check project and the Check Truncation project of the Fed/Clearing House Association of the Southwest."
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of electronic check presentment (ECP). ECCHO's membership includes more than 60 banks. Banks of all sizes may have access to ECCHO rules through the clearinghouse's tiered membership levels.
For more information, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709.
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April 15, 1998
ECCHO Appoints New Executive Director
(DALLAS, April 15, 1998) ECCHO (Electronic Check Clearing House Organization) is pleased to announce that David Walker has been appointed to the position of Executive Director. Previously, Mr. Walker served as ECCHO's Managing Director, a position he has held for the past eight years. As Executive Director, he will continue to promote the organization's vision, as well as manage the day-to-day operations.
"By naming Mr. Walker as the Executive Director, we are recognizing his long-term contribution to ECCHO's development, and his selection assures continuity in our activities and direction," says Michael Pasiecki, Chairman of ECCHO and senior vice president of Chase Manhattan Bank. "The value of Mr. Walker's years of experience in banking and data processing, coupled with his ECCHO involvement and broad participation in various industry forums, made him the obvious choice to lead ECCHO."
"I am excited to have the opportunity to directly participate in the sweeping changes being made to the banking industry resulting from the transition from paper checks to electronic transactions," says Mr. Walker. "ECCHO's next critical step is the broad implementation of Electronic Check Presentment (ECP) across our current membership roster and the extension of ECP's value to banks of all sizes."
The position of ECCHO's Executive Director was previously held by Denny Carreker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carreker-Antinori, Inc., who resigned his position in February. Because of Mr. Carreker's extensive involvement in ECCHO's formation and growth, his knowledge and vision will continue to be tapped by serving as an advisor to ECCHO's executive committee on relationships with BITS (Banking Industry Technology Secretariat) and other industry groups.
ECCHO is a not-for-profit national clearinghouse that is owned by its member banks. Formed in 1990, its primary objective is the development and promotion of electronic check presentment (ECP). ECCHO's membership includes more than 60 banks. Banks of all sizes may have access to ECCHO rules through the clearinghouse's tiered membership levels.
For more information about ECCHO, its check electronification vision or membership in ECCHO, please contact David Walker at (866) 440-4709.
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