Canada is the largest national trading partner of the United States and is the first of several countries slated for implementation of Wachovia’s International ACH services throughout 2006.
“After completing our International ACH pilot, we are pleased with the results and look forward to working with all of our customers that conduct business in Canada. With this service, we can truly offer one-stop shopping,” said Ranjana Clark, head of Wachovia Treasury Services. “The launch of our Canadian ACH service is the first step, and we look forward to rolling out International ACH capability in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and The Netherlands over the next 12 months.”
Wachovia is introducing the Canadian product after completing a research and testing phase with a pilot customer, Maple Leaf Estates Homeowners’ Corp. Based in Port Charlotte, Florida, Maple Leaf has approximately 2,200 members in the United States and Canada.
Distinguishing features of Wachovia’s International ACH services include:
Same-Currency and Cross-Currency Transactions without requiring in-country accounts. A customer does not have to establish a Canadian in-country account, cutting the expense and effort associated with managing additional (and out-of-country) bank relationships.
Flexible Payment Origination Methods — Wachovia allows for fixed-to-variable ($1000 U.S.Dollars to “X” Canadian Dollars), variable-to-fixed ($1500 Canadian Dollars to “X” U.S.Dollars) and fixed-to-fixed ($1000 U.S.Dollars to $1000 U.S.Dollars in Canada) payment origination. Having Wachovia automatically convert the transactions to U.S. dollars or the foreign currency, customers do not have to keep up with changes in currency exchange rates.
“Working with one bank, Wachovia, kept it simple for our organization and meant we didn’t need accounts with multiple banks. International ACH also eliminated the need for expensive wire transfers for our Canadian members and gave them the ability to receive and make our payments automatically,” said Tammy Eugenius, accounting manager for Maple Leaf.
As part of Wachovia's Corporate and Investment Bank, Wachovia's Treasury Services Division offers a comprehensive suite of integrated payables and receivables solutions, including electronic check conversion, accounts receivable conversion, a full range of ACH services, image technology, a national wholesale and retail lockbox network and international treasury solutions. In recent Phoenix Hecht surveys, 22 out of 23 of Wachovia's treasury services product categories were ranked "A" or "A+" by upper-middle customers and 21 out of 23 of Wachovia's treasury services product categories were ranked "A" or "A+" by large corporate customers. In the middle market survey, 21 out of 26 product categories were ranked "A" or "A+" by those surveyed. Additionally, nine of the bank's key treasury product capabilities are ranked in the top five for market share in Ernst & Young's 2005 survey. Wachovia's Information and Access product, Wachovia Connection(r), ranked first in that survey for the highest number of Information Reporting Internet Accounts. Also, the most recent Bank Leader Survey placed Wachovia's Treasury Services Number 1 for "Quality of Cash Management Specialists" and Number 2 for "Operational Quality" and "Quality/Timely Implementations."
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