Charter One Financial Selects Travelers Express' Official Checks For 420 Bank Locations

Business Wire, Jan 25, 2001

Business Editors/Banking Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2001

Cleveland-based Charter One Financial, Inc., recently selected the Travelers Express official check program for its more than 400 banking locations.

"The partnership with Travelers Express will allow us to redirect our focus to customer relationships versus backroom operations," said Dominic Salomone, senior vice president and chief bank operations officer.

"Our ongoing commitment to enhance services and technology at Travelers Express is always based on our customers' needs," said Phil Milne, president and chief executive officer for Minneapolis-based Travelers Express. "We are pleased that Charter One Financial, Inc., selected our program. We anticipate that the new on-line official check imaging capabilities, in addition to our other Internet services, will benefit Charter One Financial's operations and customer service."

Charter One has approximately $33 billion in total assets, making it one of the 30 largest bank holding companies in the country. The bank has approximately 420 branch locations in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Vermont. The branch locations operate under the Charter One name in all areas except Michigan (First Federal of Michigan) and Illinois (St. Paul Federal). The company's diverse product set includes: consumer banking, indirect auto finance, commercial leasing, business lending, commercial real estate lending, mortgage banking and retail investment products. For additional information, including press releases and investor presentations, go to Charter One's Web site: www.charterone.com.

Travelers Express, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI), serves more than 5,000 financial institutions and 65,000 retail locations. It annually processes more than 750 million payment transactions valued at more than $120 billion. In addition to official checks, money orders and gift certificates, the company offers money wire transfer services in 140 countries. More information on Travelers Express can be found on the Web at www.temgweb.com.