Fiserv Introduces IRD Seal to Validate Substitute Checks Created with Implementation of Check 21
Fiserv Introduces IRD Seal to Validate Substitute Checks Created with Implementation of Check 21
November 17, 2004
Check 21, a law designed to encourage innovation in check processing, was implemented beginning on October 28, 2004. Financial institutions were required that day to accept substitute checks - documents produced from images of the actual checks.
Developed along with Enseal Systems Ltd, a leader in document technology, IRD Seal is an image survivable security feature that contains encoded information specific to the substitute check, including the original MICR information and the truncating and re-converting bank information.
IRD Seal is an application of the proven Secure Seal technology already deployed as part of the industry-leading Fiserv FraudGuard suite of applications used by organizations such as Bank of New York, Bank One, First Data Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Northern Trust Co., US Treasury/Federal Reserve and Viewpointe Archive Services LLC. Unlike bar code solutions, Secure Seal can be incorporated easily into overall check/IRD design in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Secure Seal technology recently was included in a Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) study of image survivable security features. The FSTC's research indicated that the Secure Seal was read electronically 99.8% of the time with industry standard black-and-white images.
"We believe the IRD Seal offers outstanding protection for financial institutions that want to take advantage of the opportunities created by Check 21," said Mark Damico, president of the Fiserv Item Processing Group. "This technology is being used by some of the nation's largest financial institutions to combat check fraud. It was a logical extension to use it to authenticate substitute checks."
Fiserv is using IRD Seal to authenticate the substitute checks it creates in Fiserv item processing facilities for financial institutions. The company also is marketing the product to financial institutions that choose to create their own substitute checks.
Fiserv is the nation's largest third-party check processing provider, annually handling more than 4.2 billion checks for more than 1,700 clients. In addition, the company's Information Technology, Inc. (ITI) and Fiserv Imagesoft units provide image-based check processing software used by more than 500 additional financial institutions to process checks in-house. Fiserv operates nearly 50 check-processing centers across the U.S., another six in Canada and a national image archive that adds nearly 7 million check images each day.
Fiserv, Inc. (Nasdaq:FISV) provides industry leading information management systems and services to the financial industry, including transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing and software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 15,000 clients worldwide, including banks, broker-dealers, credit unions, financial planners/investment advisers, insurance companies and agents, self-funded employers, lenders and savings institutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported $2.7 billion in processing and services revenues for 2003. Fiserv can be found on the Internet at www.fiserv.com.