The Electronic Payments Network (EPN) announced today that Wells Fargo & Company, the third largest ACH (Automated Clearing House) originator in the US, has begun moving volume over to its private sector electronic payments system. The ongoing conversion by EPN member banks from the Federal Reserve to EPN’s ACH system has fuelled a 110 percent increase in transaction volume since June of last year.
“EPN is very pleased to welcome Wells Fargo as an active participant,” says George Thomas, president of the Electronic Payments Network. “The addition of Wells Fargo to the network expands EPN’s reach to the west coast.”
“Wells Fargo is moving ACH volume over to EPN for several reasons,” explains Mitch Christensen, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Services Company. “As an owner bank of EPN, we support a private sector alternative for electronic payments. In addition, EPN offers significantly more robust functionality that will allow Wells Fargo to provide enhanced services to our customers so we can satisfy all their financial needs and help them succeed financially.”
Even before Wells Fargo initiated transactions this week, EPN hit a record volume of more than 167 million transactions in May. EPN expects to process more than 1.8 billion transactions in calendar year 2002, up from 1.02 billion transactions in 2001.
“EPN has worked hard to deliver outstanding service, advanced technology, and standard-setting system reliability,” adds Thomas. “Banks of all sizes that have taken a close look at the added value EPN brings to electronic payments are making the switch, and we expect this remarkable growth to continue.”
EPN delivers a market-leading technology that removes barriers to straight-through processing (STP) by building on the current ACH infrastructure. One recent addition to EPN is the Universal Payment Identification Code (UPIC), an enhancement that protects against fraud and makes initiating payments easier.
“We have a singular advantage over all other start-up ventures trying to create new value in electronic payments,” explains Frank Sardina, Vice President of EPN. “We rely on a tested and reliable infrastructure, the existing ACH system, so participating banks don’t need to make major capital investments or struggle for market acceptance. EPN adds that important link in the e-commerce financial chain that enables businesses to accept electronic payments directly from consumers and other businesses.”