Mid-Wisconsin prints checks in-house

Northwestern Financial Review, Nov 1-Nov 14, 2004

Mid-Wisconsin Bank, Medford, Wis., has begun offering customers the opportunity to order checks printed at the bank. Mid-Wisconsin, a $390 million bank, expects to convert 75 percent of its personal and business checking account customers to in-house check users, said Sandy Lukas, vice president of operations.

"If we are successful in converting the projected percentage of our customers to in-house checks, we will be producing as many as 800 check orders per month," Lukas said. "This represents a significant profit opportunity for the bank, and it also represents a major service upgrade for our customers, who no longer have to wait up to two weeks for the checks to be delivered. No business or personal account customer ever need worry about running out of checks because with the in-house system, orders can be generated immediately, on-the-spot if necessary."

Lukas said the bank has an existing relationship with Deluxe Corporation for providing customer checks, but management was dissatisfied with the amount of revenue derived from outsourcing the service. When the bank renewed its Deluxe contract, it negotiated a clause that allowed it to produce checks internally.

The bank is using equipment from ACOM Solutions Inc., of Duluth, Ga., to print the checks. The bank can generate checks at a cost of about $5 per order, said Mark Firmin, general manager of ACOM Solutions Inc. The bank expects to double or triple its revenue from check products, Lukas said.

Mid-Wisconsin Bank has almost 13,000 active personal and business check accounts. It has 11 branches currently in operation, with two more scheduled to open.

Lukas said the bank initially will use the in-house check printing equipment to produce personal checks, money market account checks, business checks and club checks, with loan coupons and perhaps other bank documents to follow later. The equipment was installed in August in the bank's central location, with roll-out to branches commenced almost immediately, she said.

Mid-Wisconsin Bank's in-house check equipment is ACOM's automated Model 800, which can produce up to 50 customer check orders per hour. The equipment is a fully integrated hardware-software system comprised of a personal computer, interactive check design and printing software, a MICR-enhanced laser printer, and an automated finishing system for trimming, stapling and taping the printed checks.