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NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT:
Most Consumers Familiar With ARC Check Conversion,
Have Few Concerns, NACHA Research Shows
Herndon, Virginia, January 31, 2005 – The
good news keep rolling in for ARC - the Accounts
Receivable check conversion application. Already the
fastest-growing payment application in the 33-year
history of the Automated Clearing House (ACH)
Network, and the highest-quality consumer ACH
payment application, new consumer market research
conducted for NACHA - The Electronic Payments
Association shows that consumer awareness of ARC is
high and that most consumers don't mind having their
checks converted into electronic ACH payments.
"The survey results demonstrate that check
conversion can happen on a massive scale with little
impact on consumers, although NACHA still recommends
that sufficient attention be paid to customer
service and education," said Elliott C. McEntee,
President and Chief Executive Officer of NACHA.
ARC allows companies that receive consumers' checks
at remittance and lockbox locations to convert them
into electronic ACH payments, the same, safe
electronic payments system used for Direct Deposit.
ARC is used for consumer bill payments such as
credit cards, mortgages, insurance premiums, and
telecommunications and utility bills. NACHA
estimates that in 2004 there were 1.25 billion
consumer checks converted into ARC payments, and
that at its current growth rate may reach 2 billion
payments in 2005.
When read a description of the ARC check conversion
process, 69 percent of the consumers surveyed said
that they are familiar with the process. When
provided with an open-ended opportunity to express
any objections or concerns about check conversion,
55 percent said they had none.
"Those are impressive numbers, given that ARC is
less than three years old and that there were
concerns about consumer acceptance when it was new,"
said McEntee.
The research also found that only 4 percent of check
writers have called their financial institutions in
the past six months in reference to a check
conversion payment. This is consistent with the
results of previous NACHA research, in which only 1
out of 31 financial institutions surveyed reported
that ARC-related customer service issues are
significant.
Interestingly, with all of the recent publicity
regarding the Check 21 legislation, no consumers
responded to the open-ended opportunity with
concerns that their checks would clear more quickly.
The market research was conducted for NACHA by The
Response Center, which completed telephone
interviews with a nationally representative sample
of 404 consumers who regularly send checks to make
bill payments. The interviews were conducted between
October 28 and November 7, 2004. The margin of error
is +/- 4.9 percent.
About NACHA - The
Electronic Payments Association
NACHA is the leading
organization in developing electronic solutions to
improve the payments system. NACHA represents more
than 12,000 financial institutions through direct
memberships and a network of regional payments
associations, and 650 organizations through its
industry councils. NACHA develops operating rules
and business practices for the Automated Clearing
House (ACH) Network and for electronic payments in
the areas of Internet commerce, electronic bill and
invoice presentment and payment (EBPP, EIPP),
e-checks, financial electronic data interchange
(EDI), international payments, and electronic
benefits transfer (EBT). Visit NACHA on the Internet
at www.nacha.org.
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