ASP-based Integrated Lockbox Processing - Remittance Operations at the Speed of Change

Today, Dec 2004 by Radford, Michael, Lorenzo, Les

Over the past ten years our industry has witnessed the introduction and mass acceptance of many new channels for electronic payment processing - everything from PC-based bill payment, to point-of-sale and debit cards, to ARC transactions.

One segment of the payment processing business that has been lagging behind is electronic remittance delivery.

JP Morgan Research estimates that of the roughly 78 billion corporate payments made each year, only 10% to 15% are made electronically.

The Gartner Group estimates that the total average cost of a paper check is $8.13, while the average ACH is nearly $8 less at just $.15 each.

While those statistics are startling they don't need to apply to your operation. Recent advancements in imaging, recognition, and Web-based technologies are transforming the remittance and lockbox processing landscape and creating red-hot opportunities to reduce operating costs and improve funds availability. Treasurers are now implementing solutions that eradicate the high costs and inefficiencies of traditional remittance and lockbox processing.

The two breakthroughs providing the greatest positive impact on lockbox processing are imaging and recognition technologies, and managed ASP-based (Application Service Provider) Web services.

Image-based Integrated Lockbox Processing

Dramatic efficiencies can be achieved with the implementation of an image-based integrated lockbox solution that consolidates the images and data from all types of wholesale and retail lockbox transactions. A solution with advanced recognition technologies for checks, stubs, and invoices accelerates the collection of receivables, reduces float and clearing costs, and improves funds availability.

Application Service Provider (ASP)-based Integrated Lockbox Processing

ASP-based integrated lockbox processing offers a Web-enabled infrastructure for retail and wholesale lockbox processing that is secure, reliable, and capable of handling an unlimited number of receivables. ASP-based integrated lockbox processing provides the most cost-effective solution for providers of lockbox services - from high volume thirdparty operations with a wide range of service offerings to departmental applications with specialized processing requirements, or to regional banks catering to key corporate accounts.

Unmatched High-Quality Output At The Lowest Unit Cost

The best strategy for today's payment processors is to invest in innovative imaging technology. This technology allows you to process all types of debit and credit transactions, through paper or electronic acquisition, from any source to any destination offered through a managed, ASP-based Web-service. The combination of these technologies offers the optimum solution - industry-leading lockbox processing with a cost-effective alternative to acquiring, installing, and managing expensive remittance processing technology In-house.

The ASP-based integrated lockbox solution from AFS, eStor iBox, is built on the popular AFS iBox (Integrated Lockbox) solution. AFS eStor iBox provides one system serving retail and wholesale lockbox business units with secure and state-of-the-art ASP data centers and qualified personnel, providing the entire supporting and delivery infrastructure necessary for a successful ASPbased integrated lockbox implementation.

With this ASP-based integrated lockbox solution your operation will reduce exception item handling, speed accounts receivables and the resolution of disputed amounts, improve the availability of funds and audit control, and reduce credit exposure and risk of fraud.

With an ASP-based solution your operation realizes additional business recovery capabili ties. With an in-house lockbox solution your operation can be incapacitated by hardware problems. Any disruption in operations from infrastructure failures that leads to prolonged downtime can have catastrophic consequences in the form of delayed receivables and lost income.

Secure Remote Keying & Balancing Provides Reduced Labor Costs

AFS eStor iBox supports secure, remote keying and balancing that can be performed by your staff or at the AFS ASP Data Center. Remote keying and balancing provides tremendous efficiencies and cost savings. For instance, your operation has two processing centers, one in San Diego, California and one in Birmingham, Alabama. The San Diego site completes processing one hour ahead of schedule but Birmingham is still processing. The operators in San Diego can assist the Birmingham site with keying and balancing, over secure, encrypted communication lines, in order to meet deadlines when Birmingham was two hours behind schedule. Deadlines for both sites are met without paying for operator overtime.

Integration with ASP-based Image Archive

Your operation can achieve an even greater level of efficiency by interfacing AFS eStor iBox to the ASP-based AFS eStor Check Image Archive Service. AFS eStor Check Image Archive provides a portal for immediate viewing of check images, stores check images from a variety of paper and electronic payment sources, and facilitates check truncation and image exchange.