Electronic Clearing House --ECHO-- And TouchNet Information Systems to Offer Visa POS Check Service for Internet and Point-Of-Sale Transactions.Business Editors AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2003 Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (Nasdaq:ECHO), a leading provider of electronic payment services Electronic Payment Services (Chinese: 易辦事), commonly known as EPS, is the largest electronic payment system in Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen starting from 1985. The service is provided by EPS Company (Hong Kong) Limited. , today announced that TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. will be partnering with ECHO to introduce the Visa POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale Check Service program to its customers in the higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. market. The Visa POS check acceptance system provides direct online access to consumer demand deposit accounts for authorization The right or permission to use a system resource; the process of granting access. See access control. , similar to credit and debit card debit card, card that allows the cost of goods or services that are purchased to be deducted directly from the purchaser's checking account. They can also be used at automated teller machines for withdrawing cash from the user's checking account. transactions. TouchNet will be the first company to offer this new service to the higher education market for checks initiated over the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the and at the point of sale. The new service will significantly help TouchNet customers reduce risk and processing costs associated with accepting checks by utilizing Visa's real-time 1. real-time - Describes an application which requires a program to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time (typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical plant is the classic example. authorization network, VisaNet. Other existing check acceptance systems typically rely on a variety of historical databases or negative files to electronically process check transactions. Using TouchNet solutions, checks accepted via the Internet and/or at the point of sale can be immediately converted into electronic items. These items obtain immediate, real-time account verification and payment authorization from the check writer's bank. The combination of real-time authorization, elimination of paper check handling, and electronic settlement, allows TouchNet customers to substantially reduce operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales as well as the risks inherent in accepting checks. "We are pleased to be assisting TouchNet, a proven leader in payment services to colleges and universities, in providing Internet and retail merchants with a real-time check authorization system," said Joel M. Barry, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ECHO. "The new system establishes a secure and cost-effective alternative to other payment forms and introduces a new segment of the economy to Internet and retail shopping. We congratulate TouchNet on being both a leader and innovator in establishing new payment options for their customers." "We are continually con·tin·u·al adj. 1. Recurring regularly or frequently: the continual need to pay the mortgage. 2. looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ways to improve payment processing for our customers," said Dan Toughey, President of TouchNet. "Schools want to process payments more efficiently. With the Visa POS Check Service, we will offer schools a payment method that is available to almost every student, and is a real-time, online, cost-effective payment option." Beginning in January 2003, TouchNet will implement a pilot project at several colleges and universities in association with ECHO. Later in 2003, TouchNet will roll out the service to its more than 450 higher education customers. This new check service will be an integral feature in the next release of the TouchNet Commerce Management System, a suite of products that helps colleges and universities streamline campus commerce. "We're excited that TouchNet is our first partner serving the higher education market, and that they will introduce the POS Check Service to colleges and universities," said Dante Terrana, Visa U.S.A. Director of Business Development for the POS Check Service. "Higher education is a highly sought after market, and TouchNet is clearly a leader in this sector. Working with ECHO, we have developed a robust, scalable check processing solution that provides a wide range of connectivity options suitable for both POS and e-commerce applications. The Visa POS Check Service allows TouchNet to increase their service level to check-accepting customers while balancing their customers' needs to maintain secure and efficient handling of payment transactions." Payment industry research shows that personal checks continue to be the most widely used form of payments. Checks are used as payment for approximately 85% of all non-cash personal spending. At the same time, merchants incur To become subject to and liable for; to have liabilities imposed by act or operation of law. Expenses are incurred, for example, when the legal obligation to pay them arises. An individual incurs a liability when a money judgment is rendered against him or her by a court. $23 billion annually in handling and fraud costs -- averaging more than one dollar for every check written at the point of sale. One reason for these high costs is that a typical paper check passes through six to twelve different pairs of hands when processed in a paper-based environment. In February 2002, the Visa POS Check Service was made available to all Visa Member financial institutions. To date, merchants in more than 45 states have processed $46 million in transactions through the service. The Visa POS Check Service utilizes VisaNet, the world's largest consumer payment processing system, which currently processes transactions for more than 5 million merchants and reaches 90% of the country's demand deposit accounts. VisaNet has an established track record of nearly 100% network and system availability as well as virtually 100% reliability. About TouchNet(R)Information Systems, Inc. TouchNet develops, licenses, and supports eBusiness software solutions for electronic payments and web-based commerce. TouchNet has helped customers streamline business-essential transactions since 1989. Over 450 colleges, universities, and businesses use TouchNet products and services to integrate electronic payment processing into enterprise applications. TouchNet has helped these organizations save time and money, while improving customer service, by streamlining billing, payables, point of sale, and e-commerce operations. For more information about TouchNet, please visit www.touchnet.com. About Visa U.S.A. Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest consumer payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. Nearly 14,000 U.S. financial institutions rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $949 billion in annual transaction volume -- including about half of all Internet payments -- with virtually 100% reliability. U.S. consumers carry 383 million Visa-branded smart, credit, commercial, prepaid pre·pay tr.v. pre·paid, pre·pay·ing, pre·pays To pay or pay for beforehand. pre·pay  ment n. and check cards, accepted at approximately 24 million locations worldwide. Visa's people, partnerships, brand, payment technology and security standards are helping to create universal commerce -- the ability to safely conduct transactions anytime, anywhere, anyway. For more information about Visa, please visit www.visa.com. About Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) Electronic Clearing House, Inc. provides a complete solution to the payment processing needs of merchants, banks and collection agencies. ECHO's services include debit A monetary amount that is subtracted from an account balance. A debit from one account is a credit to another. See credit. and credit card processing, check guarantee, check verification, check conversion, check re-presentment, check collection, and inventory tracking. For more information about ECHO, please visit www.echo-inc.com. Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: Any statements set forth above that are not historical facts re forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as fluctuations in demand for the Company's products and services, the introduction of new products and services, the Company's ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, technological advancements, impact of competitive products and services and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of the Company's liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other information detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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