"This new alliance is a clear indication of our strategic priority to bring Wachovia clients a comprehensive receivables solution that will further the migration of paper to electronic processing," said Ranjana Clark, executive vice president and head of Wachovia's Treasury Services Division. "Our commitment to delivering a competitive retail lockbox solution remains strong. We are combining the best of Wachovia's integrated receivables and payment solutions with REMITCO's proven remittance processing and technological capabilities." First Data's REMITCO has a strong history of providing remittance processing services to leading companies in the telecommunications, cable, utility, consumer finance and insurance industries. REMITCO will offer Wachovia's retail lockbox clients a Web-based image archive service and advanced electronic check clearing services, including some accounts receivable conversion (ARC) enhancements and image check presentment.
"Over the past few years, technology has changed high-volume payment processing and check clearing services," said Joe Proto, president, REMITCO. "We have a shared interest with Wachovia to stay ahead of these changes and to be a leader in the future of the payments industry. This strategic alliance with Wachovia is another example of our commitment to the payments industry."
Under the terms of the agreement, First Data will acquire five Wachovia retail lockbox processing centers in Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, Langhorne, Pa. and Charlotte, N.C. Through REMITCO, First Data currently has retail lockbox processing centers in New York, Columbus, Ga. and Los Angeles, which it plans to operate as part of the combined national network with Wachovia's existing sites, offering Wachovia customers a seven-site processing solution. Wachovia's wholesale lockbox services were not part of this transaction.
About Wachovia's Treasury Services Division
In a recent survey of middle and large corporate customers by independent surveyor Phoenix Hecht, 15 out of 18 of Wachovia's treasury service products ranked "A" or "A+". Additionally, ten of the bank's 12 key treasury product capabilities are ranked in the top three for market share in Ernst & Young's survey. Wachovia's Information and Access product, Wachovia Connection®, ranked first in that survey. Recently, Wachovia Connection® was also voted the "Best Corporate/Institutional Online Cash Management Service in North America" by Global Finance, and the most recent Bank Leader Survey placed Wachovia's Treasury Services Number 2 for "Overall Satisfaction" and "Overall Quality of Customer Service."
About Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation, with assets of $401 billion, market capitalization of $61 billion and stockholders' equity of $32 billion at Dec. 31, 2003. Its four core businesses, the General Bank, Capital Management, Wealth Management, and the Corporate and Investment Bank, serve 9 million households, including 900,000 businesses, primarily in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C. Its broker-dealer, Wachovia Securities, LLC, serves clients in 49 states. Global services are provided through 32 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services also are available through www.wachovia.com.
About REMITCO and First Data
REMITCO is a leading provider of high-speed remittance processing, check clearing and Web-based image archive services, using advanced technology to deliver decision tools to billers. With a focus on providing specialized solutions for targeted industries, REMITCO serves leading telecommunications, cable, utility and consumer finance companies. Quality and technology are REMITCO's hallmarks. To find out more about REMITCO, please visit www.remitco.com.
First Data Corp., with global headquarters in Denver, helps power the global economy. Serving approximately 3.1 million merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data makes it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services, using virtually any form of payment: credit, debit, smart card, stored-value card or check at the point-of-sale, over the Internet or by money transfer. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.firstdata.com.
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