Electronic Checks

Moneris Solutions U.S. Group, Chicago, has rolled out a check-conversion and check-authorization service for merchants at the point of sale that combines with the processor's credit and debit card product. The company says it is introducing the new offering to round out its arsenal of processing services for merchant clients …

The Federal Reserve Banks announced today they plan to shutter check-processing operations at nine facilities during 2005 and early 2006. The Fed now plans to consolidate check operations in 23 remaining locations. In a statement, the Fed says the decision “respond[s] to the nation's increasing substitution of electronic payments for …

The recent surge in transactions in the category of electronic checks called accounts-receivable conversion (ARC) comes as no surprise to the banks that are playing a major role in moving utilities, insurers, retailers, credit card companies, and other major consumer billers from paper checks to electronic transactions on the automated …

The conversion of paper checks into electronic transactions at lockboxes maintained by utilities, insurers, credit card companies and other major consumer billers is growing at a red-hot pace. The process, known as accounts-receivable conversion (ARC), ballooned almost 800% in the second quarter over the year-ago period and now accounts for …

Official Payments Corp., a Stamford, Conn.-based processor that specializes in payments to government entities, has announced it is now processing electronic checks on the Internet, with settlement through the automated clearing house. The company, which quietly began the service in December and is now trafficking e-checks for 34 government agencies, …

Six New York-based payments businesses, including The Clearing House, a check-settlement processor, and Small Value Payments Co. (SVPCo.), an electronic transaction processor, will be merging over the next 12 months into a single company, The Clearing House announced today. The merger, which has been in the planning process for the …

The national network for the automated clearing house system is sifting through comments on a new rule that would levy fines on banks that fail to reduce return rates to below 1% for all client originators and for all categories of ACH transactions. Within a week or so, says the …

Having already announced last year its plan to shutter 13 check-processing facilities by the end of 2004, the Federal Reserve now says in a statement released this week it plans further closures. The announcement from the Fed does not indicate how many locations might be affected, nor is it specific …

The volume of checks processed by the Federal Reserve dove nearly 6% in the first quarter, reflecting the impact of various electronic payment methods on the nation's usage of paper checks. According to the latest data released by the Fed, the number of checks it cleared in the first quarter …

Demand from corporate clients?combined with a deadline that's only five months away–is a major factor pushing banks into check imaging, according to a top executive with one major supplier of check-processing software. Although many banks are poised to begin accepting so-called image replacement documents when the Check Clearing for the …