May 19, 2004

SVPCo Endorses Federal Reserve Statement on Business Practices for Check Images

Black and White as standard for check images assures inclusiveness and interoperability of check image exchange for all participants

May 19, 2004 - Las Vegas NV: Following the Federal Reserve's announcement of a black and white standard for check images at the BAI TransPay conference in Las Vegas, SVPCo immediately endorsed the new standard as consistent with its goals, assuring inclusiveness and interoperability for all participants in its check image exchange utility.

The debate in the industry has centered on whether the less expensive black and white images provide the right level of usability, or if grayscale, used by a number of financial institutions will be cost effective in the long run for handing exceptions, detecting fraud, and providing customer service. The new standard of black and white images (200 to 240 dots per inch) is intended to maintain consistent image quality and align with baseline industry practices.

"You've got to have a standard that everyone subscribes to and uses," said Hank Farrar, president and chief operating officer of SVPCo. "We support the Federal Reserve taking a position on this complex issue at this time. It helps move the entire industry forward on the implementation of Check 21 and check image exchange."

SVPCo's cost-effective, national check image exchange utility is designed to be used by all financial institutions, all sizes. The network is designed to efficiently move grayscale images and has set a minimum standard of black and white, front and back, for check images.

"The Federal Reserve has set a reasonable standard, which means more financial institutions and processors can participate readily," said John Dunn, SVPCo Project Manager. "It's something we really needed in the industry to help gain acceptance, realize the cost savings, efficiencies and service benefits of exchanging images."

SVPCo is a bank-owned private-sector provider of electronic payment services, primarily ACH, ECP and image. SVPCo participating banks represent more than 65 percent of the 42 billion checks written in the U.S. annually.

Once SVPCo's new network is in place for check image exchange, its uses will be expanded to include clearing and settling other types of payments and moving payment information throughout the day.

"Our strategic objective is to create a national utility with one connection and one payments system network for multiple types of transactions," said Mr. Farrar. "This state-of-the-art, peer-to-peer exchange network can be leveraged for moving real time payments and payments related data throughout the day. We plan to use it for ECP, ACH, CHIPS, bill payment, EDI and more. Standards will be key."

About SVPCo

SVPCo is owned by 22 of the largest banks in the United States and The Clearing House. SVPCo owner banks are: ABN AMRO, Bank of America, N.A. The Bank of New York, Bank One, N.A., BB&T, Citibank, N.A. Citizens Bank, Comerica, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Fleet National Bank, HSBC Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank, KeyBank, Mellon Financial Corporation, M&T Bank, National City Bank, PNC Bank, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, Union Bank of California, Wachovia Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The SVPCo bank owners represent more than 65% of U.S. commercial bank deposits. SVPCo's services include Electronic Clearing Services, the nation's largest electronic check presentment service, and the Electronic Payments Network, the only private sector ACH processor in the U.S. For more information, visit www.svpco.com or www.electronicclearingservices.com.