COLUMBUS, Ohio – Corporate One Federal Credit Union, a leading provider of financial products and services to the credit union industry, announced today that GenFed Federal Credit Union in Akron, Ohio is the 500th credit union location to begin using the corporate’s Automated Capture & Exchange (ACE) solution, a back-counter branch capture system that allows credit unions to perform electronic forward collection of deposits.
Since the launch of ACE in April 2005, credit unions in seven states have imaged and archived more than 19 million items, totaling more than $10.5 billion. During that time, the average item processed via ACE was valued at $557.50.
After Check 21 took effect in 2004, some financial institutions accelerated their entry into the marketplace by embracing the utilization of substitute checks. Others opted to partner with banks for a Check 21 product.
“Instead of focusing on substitute checks, which are both expensive and present their own challenges of duplicate presentments, we opted to look into an intelligent, least-cost routing model,” said Robert Coyan, SVP, marketing and operations for Corporate One. “Our solution uses what is essentially a virtual sorter that incorporates fraud mitigation and least-cost routing logic for optimum protections and efficiencies.”
“Several major banks had also solicited us to re-sell their products, and while processing deposits will always involve exchanging items with banks, we wanted to deliberately limit this dependency. It just didn’t make sense to help generate income for the same banks that were assaulting credit unions on Capitol Hill with their PACs,” Coyan noted. “Additionally, we found these solicitations rather ironic in that the banks weren’t even using their own product within their institutions. At this point, we opted to design a solution specifically for credit unions from the ground up,” he added.
Using a model of least-cost routing, Corporate One examines each item and determines the least expensive means of sending it for collection. For example, ACE knows the price of numerous clearing options. When an item is sent to Corporate One for collection, ACE weighs out the least expensive and fastest clearing options, sorts the item accordingly and forwards it to the appropriate agent for collection, which may be the Federal Reserve, a national image exchange clearinghouse, or the financial institution on which the item is drawn.
“From the beginning, our turnkey strategy has put ACE in a class all its own. Because our solution includes an image archive, fraud prevention features, hardware, software, maintenance, dedicated support and business continuity contingencies, our members’ entry into electronic deposit automation is virtually risk-free,” Coyan added. “Response has been extremely positive and we continue to build volume while ensuring our members receive very competitive pricing.”
ACE is also available to credit unions through Processing Alliance, a credit union service organization (CUSO) formed last year by Corporate One and CU*Answers of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Processing Alliance re-markets ACE to its clients under the brand “CU*Check 21.”
Corporate One Federal Credit Union is a leading wholesale financial services provider to more than 780 of America’s credit unions. With more than $4.1 billion in assets under management, Corporate One offers correspondent services including ATM/debit cards, share draft imaging, and depository and electronic payment services to credit unions in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, as well as investment solutions to credit unions across the United States. Corporate One also developed and manages Alliance One, one of the nation’s largest non-network-specific ATM selective-surcharging groups. For more information, visit www.corporateone.coop.
For more information, please contact Paul Hixon at 800/282-2560, ext. 9313.