MagTek Adds Enhanced Reading To MICRImage; New Reading Capability Supports Check Conversion with Higher Reliability.

Business Editors

CARSON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2003

MagTek, Inc., a leading provider of precision point-of-sale automation technology, today announced the development of Enhanced Reading (ER) technology for its MICRImage(TM) check reader/scanner. This patent-pending technology enhancement allows for automated confirmation of MICR data in check-reading, ensuring the highest level of confidence for check conversion and other electronic check transactions requiring high read reliability.

"We developed the Enhanced Reading technology in response to the increasing transaction volume in electronic check conversion," said Carlos Morales, MagTek's product manager for check reading and imaging products. "Because check conversion directly initiates a funds transfer using the MICR data read from the check, it requires the highest possible accuracy from the check-reading device. MagTek's Enhanced Reading gives retailers and other check processors a higher degree of confidence in their transaction data, and reduces the incidence and potential negative consequences of misreads."

With MagTek's ER technology, the MICRImage uses an innovative process to read the check up to three times automatically, comparing the results of multiple reads and reporting any discrepancies to the POS terminal or check processing application. If a check reads identically on multiple passes, its captured data may be deemed accurate with a high confidence level; those checks that do not can be stopped from initiating an erroneous transaction, and they may be read again, confirmed for accuracy by a human operator, or simply rejected.

In addition to supporting check conversion, MagTek's ER technology will also help retailers and check processors cope with the increasing rate of out-of-spec checks. The easier accessibility to consumers and small businesses of MICR printing technology is allowing more users to print their own checks, which frequently fail to meet the generally accepted ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards for MICR check printing. Some out-of-spec checks may have enough problems to cause inconsistent reading results, but such misreads are likely to be caught through the application of MagTek's ER technology.

"Out-of-spec checks still represent a small proportion of the market, but the nature of check conversion demands the highest reliability for all checks in order to generate accurate check transactions," says Morales.

The MagTek MICRImage check reader/scanner reads the MICR check data and captures an image of the check face in the same pass, replacing more complex and expensive standalone check imagers and making it a cost-effective solution even for small merchants. Its attractive ergonomic design, integrated modem, and small footprint make the MICRImage feasible even for point-of-sale environments with limited counter space. "With the MICRImage, we've created a cost-effective device that includes all the necessary components for check reading and imaging in a single housing," said Morales. "And now, with Enhanced Reading capability, it supports even those applications that demand the highest accuracy and reliability."

For More Information

More information, including full product specifications, is available at www.magtek.com. Prospective customers are invited to visit www.magtek.com for sales contact information, or to call 888-624-8350.

About MagTek, Inc.

Since 1972, MagTek has been a world leader in electronic transaction technology, from magnetic stripe card readers and writers to high-accuracy MICR check readers to secure PIN issuance and cardholder verification systems. The company's products and components are in use today at point-of-sale (POS) and back-office locations in thousands of companies around the world; they are incorporated into kiosks and ATMs, banking customer service terminals and custom retail point-of-sale (POS) terminals, and restaurant and hospitality equipment.

Recent MagTek innovations have included MICR check readers to meet the growing demand for check conversion, high-reliability motorized card encoding technology, USB-enabled interface readers, an integrated customer PIN selection and management system, and hybrid mag-stripe/smart card reader/writer technology. MagTek has been a leading proponent of electronic payment standards for over three decades. MagTek has 250 employees at its Carson, California headquarters and in sales offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and distributors in over 40 countries.