Services:

Transaction Processing
As a customer, it is important that you understand how your transactions are handled. ECS has been processing credit card terminals and ATM terminals for over 10 years. We have processing agreements with First Data, Global Payments, and Elan Payment Processing. We are a completely PCI compliant company, in which the data that we handle is secure, protected and we are held to the highest standards from both PCI compliance regarding credit and debit transactions and NACHA regarding all ACH transactions. ECS processes over 3M transactions each month and has been doing this in a secure environment in order to protect our customers. We also pride ourselves on the speed of a particular transaction, the average POS transaction is sent and messaged back in less than 3 seconds and our ATM transactions are just less than 5 seconds.

We are registered with all major ATM Networks including Star, Pulse, Plus, Quest, Maestro, Cirrus, NYCE, AFFN, and others. In additon, we are sanctioned to offer and support credit and debit transactions with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diner's and EBT.

Remote Deposit Capture
Following the suspension of all aircraft flights after the 9/11 attacks, the nation’s paper-based checking system that required the physical transport of checks from one bank to another for processing ground to a halt. It is estimated that over $40 billion was delayed from clearing for several days. Congress recognized this inherent flaw in the system and passed the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) that went into effect on October 28, 2004. The Check 21 law permits the processing of check information electronically, and the delivery of a substitute image of the check for bank deposit. The substitute image is the legal equivalent of the original check and includes all the information contained on that original paper check.

How Check 21 makes check processing more efficient
Instead of physically moving paper checks from one bank to another, Check 21 allows the processing of checks electronically. A picture of the front and back of the check along with the associated payment information is captured and transmitted electronically for payment.  The process (by using a low cost scanner) provides you the solution to be able to scan, process, deposit, archive and retrieve the check images right from your desktop.

Benefits of Remote Deposit Technology:

• Accelerated clearings
• Improved Availability of Funds at the Bank
• Enhanced Cash Flow
• Reduced Return Item Risk
• Reduced Transportation Costs and Convenience
• Reduced Processing Costs
• Consolidated Banking Relationships

ACH
Any company who accepts checks and wants to save the time and expense of the paper check processing model or wants an additional or less expensive alternative to credit cards. Here are some samples of how ACH can provide value to you and your customers:
• Automatically deduct money from your customers' accounts (one-time or recurring)
• Automatically fund money to a customer or vendor account.
• Eliminate the expense of processing payments through traditional paper check methods.
• Save the time and money associated with printing, mailing, invoicing, handling payments, etc. 
• Simplify your billing processes and increase efficiency by going electronic.

Is Check Conversion Safe?
Checks are converted into electronic payments via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network, the same safe, reliable system used by hundreds of thousands of companies for Direct Deposit of payroll and by the federal government for benefit payments such as Social Security.

The Federal Reserve's Regulation E and the NACHA Operating Rules regulate electronic payments. Because of Reg E and the NACHA Operating Rules, consumers have greater account protection when their checks are converted than when a paper check stays a check.

Also, due to accelerated processing times and quicker notification of account issues, the ACH-based check conversion process results in fewer bad checks, earlier fraud detection, and fewer errors.

The Facts of Check Conversion
In 2007, the number of Direct Payments increased by 3.6 percent to 3.4 billion payments. NACHA estimates that more than 8.5 billion consumer bills were paid via the ACH Network in 2007, including pre-authorized debits.

Also available - Recurring Payments
Setup payments to happen automatically, for as long as you want, and at the time intervals you specify.  This "set it and forget it" flexible-scheduling payment method simplifies your billing efforts and simplifies your customer's efforts in paying you.

Also Available - Batch File Uploads
If you have a lot of ACH transactions to run and not enough time or desire to enter them one-by-one, the Batch File Upload feature is right for you.  Consolidate your many transactions into one file that is then submitted to us and processed for payment. 

Check Cashing
With more than 38 million people being paid with a “physical” check each pay period, there is a need to convert these checks to cash, primarily for the “unbanked”.  Roughly 9.1% of all U.S. families are without some type of transaction account (unbanked) and are disproportionately represented among minorities. The “unbanked” often rely on alternative ways to carry out basic financial transactions such as cashing payroll checks and paying bills.
 
ECS has developed a product and technology that will allow merchants to cash customer’s Government and Payroll checks.  This technology involves registering a customer through biometric and verification of personal information.  Once registered, the customer can cash any payroll or government check at the Merchant location for a nominal fee.  This allows the Merchant to offer incremental services and also generate fees, and finally create cash for the customer to purchase more items in the business location.

The product includes all necessary equipment, in which we install you’re the customer and train on the usage.  What is unique about our product is that we also include the ATM machine that holds the money that is dispensed to the customer.  This allows the merchant to concentrate on running the business without the worry of having additional cash on hand, all cash is kept secure in the ATM vault.  The entire process for cashing a check takes approximately 10 seconds at the counter with very little assistance from a clerk.  ECS has found that in a specific retail environment in-store sales can increase up to 17% with the implementation of the check cashing product

Bill Pay Services
In many of our locations, customers have asked for additional services that will help them build loyalty, an additional revenue stream and give a customer reason to come into the location.  One os these services is bill pay, ECS offers a bill pay solution that runs on the POS terminal in which a customer can easily pay a bill.  Some of the carriers and bill pay partners we have are Western Union, Cox Cable, Metro PCS, Time Warner Cable, Direct TV, Alltel, Qwest, Cricket. 

The service offers the "un-banked" another opportunity to easily complete transactions and pay for services in a “cash-preferred” environment.  We have several ways to install and support a bill pay solution.  One is from a standalone kiosk in which the customer handles the entire transaction with no assistance from the retail location.  The other alternative, is a cost-effective application that we can install on the existing POS terminal at the business, this allows for easy adoption and a new service offering with little commitment on the Merchant’s part.

Once again, like so many of ECS’ offerings, this will bring traffic to a retail location, generate fees for the business owner and create another selling opportunity once the customer is in the business location.

Gift Card Services
Gift card sales are predicted to be $35B this year, an increase of 25% over last year’s gift card sales.  A study by Comdata Stored Value Solutions projected that in the 2008 holiday season the average gift card buyer will spend $203 on cards, a $17.00 increase from last year.  Gift Cards provide a unique marketing, loyalty and profit opportunity for the Merchant.  The fact of the matter is that 17% of all stored card values go unused, which translates to an extra profit margin for the business.  In addition, Gift cards can be designed to be either open loop (multi-location or corporate owned) or they can be closed loop (single location or franchise). 

ECS provides a single application that allows the Merchant to issue, redeem and reload cards right from the POS terminal.  There is no need for separate software or special equipment.  ECS will also design custom Gift cards for the merchant, and can ship the cards right to the Merchant location.

See some of our recent customers of the gift card program: