ACOM's Financial Documents Division Demonstrates First Automated In-House Check Production System at ICBA's National Convention and Techworld.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Independent Community Bankers of America Convention and Techworld

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003

ACOM Solutions' Financial Documents Division, developer and marketer of the MICRPro(R) in-house check printing solution, today introduced an automated production and finishing system that cuts stacks of printed personal checks to checkbook size and stitches and tapes them into pads in a continuous, hands-free process. (JPEG image available. Contact Maribell Buchanan, [e-mail].) The system is being demonstrated for the first time at the Independent Community Bankers of America Convention and Techworld, March 2-6 at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort.

According to Financial Documents Division Vice President Mark Firmin, the new solution dramatically accelerates the in-house check production process, and makes the MICRPro solution even more feasible for large, often multilocational institutions of $250 million assets or more that may have considered their personal checkbook order volume so high as to preclude the use of an in-house system.

"For banks of any size, the ability to offer customers high-speed delivery of checks that are as good as, or better than, those available from third party vendors is a highly positive and desirable customer service as well as a significant source of new non-interest revenues," Firmin said. "With in-house solutions, next-day delivery is typical and in emergencies, a few minutes is possible. Meanwhile, the capability of this new automated system allows large banks yet another opportunity to cross-sell additional bank products and services while also strengthening their competitive position in their markets."

The MICRPro Automated Check Production Total Solution comes in two versions, differentiated by their capacities: the MICRPro 800 generates up to 25 checkbook orders per hour and the MICRPro 1600 generates up to 50 orders per hour. The total solution also includes MICRPro check printing software, a PC and a MICR-enhanced laser printer. Prices are $55,000 and $70,000, respectively, with availability in mid-second quarter, 2003.

"At these prices, banks can produce an order of checks for less than $5.00, leaving room for substantial profit," Firmin said. "With check order prices to customers currently ranging from $12.00 to $20.00, it is easy to see how a bank can realize profits of $200 to $400 per hour from this activity, leading to a system payback of less than one year."

To produce a customer check order, the operator sets up the checks in the MICRPro software and prints them on blank security check stock using the associated MICR-enhanced laser printer. The operator then removes the stack of printed checks comprising the order -- typically eight checkbooks -- places them in the input tray of the automated production system, and presses the start button. In as little as 90 seconds, the device stitches, tapes and cuts the books, and they are ready to be mailed or handed to the customer.

The system is fast, quiet and safe, Firmin said. It is compact, requiring less than 20 square feet for the entire MICRPro installation: PC and Printer, which reside on a table, and the automated finishing system. The automated system resides on a waist-high rolling cabinet that serves as a storage unit for the check stock and printer consumables, with the combined unit measuring about 5' x 2.5' x 4.5'. The stitching, taping and cutting elements are protected by an OSHA-compliant safety enclosure, with an attractive, hinged gull wing access door for service.

"We firmly believe that this new equipment will remove any remaining obstacles to the use of in-house check printing in large financial institutions," Firmin said. "It should be well-received in the banking community, where there is a constant quest for new non-interest revenue sources to supplement sagging interest rates."

About ACOM Solutions

ACOM Solutions Financial Document Division is the premier developer and marketer of check and financial document production solutions that enable financial institutions to streamline their front office and back office check and financial document production activities, and to create and fulfill customer check orders and reorders in-house, versus outsourcing to commercial check vendors. ACOM Solutions, Inc. is a multidivisional, international developer and marketer of conventional and e-business solutions that integrate with enterprise applications to enhance back office and B2B processes for electronic, Internet and paper-based commerce. For more information, contact ACOM Solutions Financial Documents Division at 3305 Breckinridge Blvd., Suite 130, Duluth, GA 30096; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail]; Web: www.inhousechecks.com.