Massachusetts Banks Tout Electronic Check Recovery Program.

BSG Financial's Re$ubmitIt benefits banks, commercial accountholders

BOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- BSG Financial, LLC, a provider of profit-enhancing programs and marketing services to the financial industry, announced at the 2007 New England Bank Technology & Retail Banking Conference & Exhibit that Ipswich, Mass.-based The First National Bank of Ipswich ($300 million in assets) and Worcester, Mass.-based Commerce Bank & Trust ($1 billion in assets) have purchased Re$ubmitIt, an electronic collection solution for returned deposit items.

According to The First National Bank of Ipswich officials, the bank purchased Re$ubmitIt to facilitate a more efficient means of collecting returned checks for both the bank and its commercial accountholders. In the past, the bank would conduct such activities manually, which decreased bank employees' productivity and detracted from manpower dedicated to serving customers. The program will serve as a value add for commercial accountholders and distinguish the bank from local competition.

"Operationally, BSG Financial's Re$ubmitIt is more efficient for our commercial accountholders and our employees, because the program turns each uncollected check into an electronic item, automating the process without manual interference," said Maryjon Brett, senior vice president of Operations and IT at The First National Bank of Ipswich.

"From a marketing standpoint, we are competing with other financial institutions for the same accounts, and Re$ubmitIt is a program we can offer our business customers that other banks may not," said Janice Costa, senior vice president of Retail Banking and Marketing for The First National Bank of Ipswich.

At no charge to the merchant, Re$ubmitIt recovers 100 percent of the face value of all items collected by utilizing electronic check re-presentment technology via the Automated Clearinghouse Network (ACH). Merchants benefit from free secondary collection attempts, resulting in fewer checks written off as bad debts, while spending less time on the collection process. Similarly, banks can increase revenue through a unique revenue-sharing agreement with BSG Financial, who shares a portion of the service fee collected from the check writer.

"Offering our commercial accountholders a program such as Re$ubmitIt sets us apart from our competition," said Brian Thompson, president of Commerce Bank & Trust. "When we can offer a time- and money-saving service to our customers that also automates internal functions - all parties benefit."

In addition to processing returned paper checks, Re$ubmitIt also processes electronic items, including ACH originations and check conversions, such as back office conversions (BOC), accounts receivable conversions (ARC) and Web-authorized payments (WEB). As a result, the revenue provided through processing paper checks is only a portion of the potential program earnings.

"Re$ubmitIt enables banks of varying asset sizes to provide commercial accountholders a proven program for increased check collection that also positively impacts account retention and market position," said Barrett Nichols, founder and CEO of BSG Financial. "From a bank resources perspective, whether it has millions or billions in assets, our electronic check and item recovery program works to the benefit of several departments - from retail banking and marketing to operations - to, ultimately, the customer."

Re$ubmitIt is endorsed by the Massachusetts Bankers Association as a preferred vendor.

About The First National Bank of Ipswich

Founded in 1892, The First National Bank of Ipswich has created a binding relationship with its customers through longevity. With eight branches from Boston to Portsmouth and centrally located on the North Shore, the bank serves thousands of customers. For more information, visit www.fnbi.com.

About Commerce Bank & Trust

Founded in 1955 to provide the residents and businesses of Central Massachusetts with a supportive local bank, Commerce Bank & Trust, now more than $1 billion in assets, serves Worcester, Holden, Leominster, Marlborough, Milford, Shrewsbury, Webster, West Boylston and Westborough. For more information, visit www.bankatcommerce.com.

About BSG Financial, LLC

Louisville, Ky.-based BSG Financial develops and manages innovative, profit-enhancing programs for the financial industry. In addition to Re$ubmitIt, the company offers its flagship program, "The Responsible Approach[TM]", which uniquely provides the industry's first outsourced solution for courtesy overdraft management, CourtesyConnect[R], as well as the in-house OverdraftHonor[R] program. BSG Financial also offers Sale/Leaseback to help banks generate capital from non-earning depreciated assets.

BSG Financial, recognized by Bank Technology News as an industry innovator, is privately owned and serves financial institutions nationwide whose assets range from $100 million to more than $30 billion. For more information about the company, visit www.BSGfinancial.com.