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First Union Becomes First US-based Bank to Join Worldwide Automated Transaction Clearing House CHARLOTTE, N.C. - First Union announced today it has become the first US-based financial services company to join WATCH - the Worldwide Automated Transaction Clearing House Limited - a new payments system that will facilitate cross-border, multi-currency ACH transactions. "Today, cross-border ACH transactions are difficult to accomplish and are not widely available to many countries in local currencies because of the unique characteristics each country has in handling and settling small-value ACH payments," said Mark Havlik, VP and manager of Global Electronic Payments for First Union. "WATCH will eliminate this complexity, enabling member banks to consolidate all cross-border ACH activity through a single switch, or translator." WATCH will then convert the transaction to the receiving country's ACH file format and provide end-of-day financial settlement. "Customers will benefit by using cross-border ACH credits to pay dividends, payroll and pensions to their expatriate employees in the local currency - representing a huge savings over a wire transfer," said Priscilla Taylor, WATCH Program Director. "WATCH will offer a global ACH solution to meet the growing demand for an efficient and cost-effective means of making high-volume cross-border payments." To date, 19 member banks have joined WATCH, which is expected to be accepting ACH credits in 2002, with ACH debits following closely thereafter. Electronic commerce, electronic bill presentment and payment, global electronic payments and a variety of Internet-based options are among the many cash management services available at First Union. First Union offers a full range of collection, disbursement, information reporting and electronic commerce services designed to improve day-to-day efficiency of company treasury operations and maximize company return on cash assets. First Union's cash management products have earned top marks in surveys by Ernst & Young. First Union is the third-largest cash management bank in the country, according to Ernst & Young. About First Union CorporationFirst Union (NYSE:FTU), with $258 billion in assets and stockholders' equity of $14 billion at June 30, 2000, is a leading provider of financial services to 15 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices in 12 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and full-service brokerage offices in 44 states and international offices worldwide. Online banking products and services can be accessed through www.firstunion.com. |
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