Americas Community Bankers Endorses Fiserv

Check 21, a law designed to encourage innovation in check processing, will be implemented beginning on Oct. 28, 2004. Initially, financial institutions will be required primarily to accept substitute checks - essentially documents produced from images of the actual checks - as well as to educate their staffs on various aspects of the law and to notify customers of the changes. However, many industry observers believe financial institutions eventually will use the push from Check 21 to move one day to using only images for processing checks. Fiserv, the nations largest third-party check processor, will offer ACB members a unique member benefit package that provides flexibility in preparing for the changes expected from Check 21. Fiserv can provide a fully outsourced or an in-house solution that includes image-based check processing, substitute-check creation, Check 21 training for employees and participation in the Fiserv Clearing Network. The Fiserv Clearing Network will enable financial institutions to clear and settle checks through one connection to Fiserv. The network is designed initially to work in the paper-based world, but will evolve as processing moves toward using only images.