Alogent Corporation Leads the Charge as Banks Usher in Check 21; Alogent's Paper to Electronic Conversion Technology Already Deployed and Running at Global Financial Institutions.

ATLANTA -- Alogent Corp., a provider of payment transaction processing solutions for global financial institutions, remittance and payment processors, announced its paper to electronic, Straight Through Check Processing(TM) solutions for branch deposit automation, image exchange, and remote deposit are currently being deployed at U.S. financial institutions in preparation for this week's enactment of Check 21.

"Very early in the move toward Check 21 readiness, Alogent was tapped by money center and regional institutions to deploy deposit automation and image exchange solutions," said Brian Geisel, Alogent founder and CEO. "Alogent has been the clear leader in Straight Through Check Processing due to the extensive work we've completed globally."

"Check 21 ushers in an era of transformation in payments processing," said Alenka Grealish, manager of the banking practice at Celent Communications. "Financial institutions looking to seize this opportunity need to examine technology platforms like Alogent's that address all points of presentment and, importantly, provide an end-to-end workflow-based solution."

At more than 4,500 branches and 14,200 seats, Alogent has successfully deployed more branch deposit automation than any other solution provider in the world. Branch deposit automation delivered through Alogent's Sierra Xpedite(R) product enables the capture, validation, and automated balancing of check deposits at bank branches using imaging technology, business rules, and advanced workflows. The single largest deployment of this technology is at JP Morgan Chase, with more than 1,800 branches, 11,000 teller workstations and transactions consolidated at 14 regional processing centers.

"Check 21 is changing the way the industry thinks about mission-critical banking processes, particularly with image exchange," Geisel said. "As the paper payments processing landscape transitions to a mix of paper, data and image, Alogent has built a flexible payments gateway to accommodate all inputs, outputs and workflows. This legislation does not mandate banks do anything in particular, but the competitive landscape it creates demands that banks partner with technology providers that offer options, not constraints. Alogent is consistently selected by banks because we specialize in image workflows that facilitate the processing and exchange of paper, data and image."

Most recently, SunTrust Bank, the 7th largest bank in the U.S., selected Alogent's Sierra(R) Xchange(TM) to operate as the intelligent payment processing and image exchange engine for its strategic Check 21 platform. In September, the two companies showcased the strategy and platform in open forum at BAI's National Electronic Check and Image Exchange Conference.

In addition, Alogent has deployed image and data exchange technology and workflows for a large southeastern regional bank and for NetBank, Inc., a diversified financial services provider and parent company of NetBank(R) (www.netbank.com).

Alogent's image based check processing platform, Sierra Clearing(R), also processes 74 percent of all checks written in the United Kingdom, giving the company a track record of global success.

Sierra Xchange enables banks to efficiently converge paper, data, and image to process both intrabank transactions, such as those originating at branches, ATMs, cash vaults and merchant locations, as well as interbank data and image exchange.

A third area of success is Remote Deposit Automation, which entails the deployment of technology in business and merchant offices to automate deposits. This solution offers banks an avenue to acquire new depository business outside their branch footprint, as well as ensure superior retention of existing customers through the delivery of value added services. Businesses and merchants benefit from reduced trips to the bank, fewer deposit errors, check truncation and potentially earlier funds availability. Alogent is working with NetBank to deliver this solution to its business customers. Alogent is also delivering this solution to the customers of three other top 50 U.S. banks. Separate announcements on these engagements will be made shortly.

"Check 21 changes the way banks do business with each other," said Geisel. "Alogent's solutions for Straight Through Check Processing are helping to shape the Check 21 strategies for some of the nation's most technologically advanced institutions. This legislation enables a new direction for payments delivery and processing; Alogent is proud to be in the vanguard."

To learn why banks are migrating to Alogent's Straight Through Check Processing solutions, download this free evaluation summary, "Is Deposit Automation Right for Your Financial Institution?" at http://www.alogent.com/library/download.asp?FileID=20.

About Alogent

Alogent is a financial services technology company with proven global success in providing payment processing solutions that enable banks, billers and outsource processors to reduce costs, accelerate timelines and improve quality in check and item processing. Alogent's suite of Sierra solutions help banks adapt to Check 21, check truncation and paper-to-electronic transformation. They include solutions for deposit automation, image based centralized item processing, image exchange and the unique Straight Through Check Processing(TM). Alogent products process over a billion transactions a year in the United States, and the company provides the platform that processes 74 percent of all checks written in the United Kingdom. Alogent's solutions are being deployed to the largest deposit automation implementations in the world. Alogent brings proven credibility and leadership to help global customers address mission-critical challenges. For more information about Alogent's solutions, visit www.alogent.com.

For more information about Alogent in the USA, write 4005 Windward Plaza, Second Floor, Alpharetta, GA 30005; phone [phone]; toll free 888.333.6030; fax [phone] or email [e-mail]. For sales in the UK, phone [phone]; fax: [phone] or email [e-mail].