Product: Check 21 Direct
Company: Integrity Payment Systems

Check 21 came about following Sept. 11, 2001, when flights were grounded and checks no longer could be physically flown to banks to be cleared. Check 21 offered banks the option of using an image of that check as a substitute. The ability for banks to send electronic copies of checks will save them millions of dollars in time and labor. Nonbank organizations, the merchants, are still manually processing the checks they get by filling out deposit slips and taking them to the bank.

Check 21 does not stipulate that only banks can take advantage of the new law; however, for merchants there has not been a solution that allows them to leverage the immense benefits of Check 21 ... until now. Bankcard service provider Integrity Payment Systems recently rolled out Check 21 Direct, a comprehensive Check 21 solution for merchants. An entirely Web-based product, there is no software to buy, install or upgrade. All merchants need is a check imager.

Now, any type of commerce where checks are used as payment, not just retail, but industrial, business to business, mail order and others, can take the checks they receive, and scan them into Integrity's system. Integrity then takes the money from the check writer's bank and gives it back to the merchant.

It doesn't stop there. In addition to letting merchants take advantage of the new law, Check 21 Direct offers additional services. Merchants will find out much more quickly if a check is bad, and Integrity will take care of the entire funds recovery process without charging the merchant NSF fees. Also, the information for every single check is stored in Integrity's system and the merchant can access this information at any time. The data can be downloaded from the Check 21 Direct Web site and easily imported into Quickbooks or other standard accounting software.

In addition to saving merchants time and money, Check 21 Direct presents tremendous opportunities for ISOs and merchant level salespeople. The product is completely independent from Integrity's bankcard products, and ISOs or MLSs do not have to offer these to sell Check 21 Direct. The bankcard market is highly saturated and competitive as more and more merchants are moving to accept plastic for payment. Almost no one has a Check 21 solution.

Because the merchant must have a check imager, there is also the opportunity for revenue from equipment sales. Integrity provides a variety of scanners with sales and leasing options.

Integrity Payment Systems
888-477-4500
www.check21direct.com