CHECK 21 - CHECK PROCESSING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Check 21 processing is the revolutionary new service that allows you to convert the paper checks that you receive from your customers into electronic deposits to your checking account. Deposit any check you receive, of any type, right from your office or at the point of sale. Business checks, personal checks, government checks, postal money orders, bank drafts, check-by-phone drafts, and more are all OK for deposit. All you need is an Internet connection, a PC, our attached scanner/imager, and a Check 21 Direct account from us. The system scans up to 40 checks per minute, produces an error free deposit report at the end of the day, processes the actual digital images of the check through the Federal Reserve just as paper checks have been in the past, and deposits the proceeds to your account within 2 business days. If the check is NSF, you are notified within the same 2 business day time frame. The NSF check can then be resubmitted up to two more times for successful collection. Because the system is programmed for resubmissions to be done strategically, there is a 97% success rate on resubmission of NSF items. Check images are archived, so that you can go online 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to view or search for them, and to view batch histories and status.

Finally, and of tremendous importance, the files can be downloaded so that your billing systems can be updated. When payment information is posted directly to customer accounts, you will eliminate the duplication of effort that results in more errors, more time invested, less efficiency, and significantly higher costs.

HISTORY & DESCRIPTION

CHECK 21 is the common name for the "CHECK CLEARING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT", passed by Congress in October 2003. It was done in reaction to the 9-11 attacks when all aircraft were grounded and checks could not be transported to the Federal Reserve to be cleared. The FED was completely incapacitated, and billions of dollars were lost due to the 10 day "float" time that resulted from this situation. The Act became effective in October 2004. It allowed for the "digital images" of paper checks to be used as a substitute for the checks themselves. These images are of both the front and back of the checks, and when submitted electronically to the Federal Reserve, they would clear through the system just as paper checks have done in the past. The paper check itself must then be shredded within two weeks after the substitute check is created.

It is expected that by the year 2010, essentially all mid-market and larger companies in America will have implemented a Check 21 solution. You can start taking advantage of all the benefits and savings today.

BENEFITS

The program is at the leading edge of business and consumer check processing technologies. In fact, the systems are so good that a number of banks use them as the bank's "back-end" processing system, offering these same services under the bank's brand name, but at higher prices. Following are just some of the benefits to your company:

1. Operational Efficiency: Simple and efficient enough to allow you to redeploy or reduce accounts receivable support personnel.

2. Lower Bank Fees: Most companies find their bank fees are drastically reduced. For companies receiving large numbers of checks, it can literally save millions of dollars in bank fees per year.

3. Robust Reporting: Get information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

4. Save time and money when you download and import files directly into your billing system to update client accounts.

5. No Internal IT Support Required: Access the system via the Internet. The system resides on our processor's ultra-secure servers. Data is encrypted and satisfies federal online banking regulations.

6. Simple To Learn, Simple To Use: Only a few minutes of set-up and training necessary to be up and running.

7. Improve Handling Of NSF Items: Get notification of NSF's in 2 days. Have NSF's strategically resubmitted up to two additional times. Eliminate "repeat" NSF fees.

8. Extend your banking day to 5 PM, the cut-off time for same-day deposits.

9. Electronic transactions clear the FED before paper transactions do, thereby enhancing likelihood of successful clearing.

We have identified additional benefits for every business that are not listed here. We are confident that you will identify even more that are unique to your business.