NOVA Adds Business Check Processing to Its Electronic Check Service; Enhancement Allows Merchants Like Bill Ussery Motors to Accept All Checks, All Ways

NOVA Information Systems (NOVA), a wholly ownedsubsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), today announced that it hasenhanced its Electronic Check Service (ECS) product line to supportbusiness checks as well as consumer checks. The service nowelectronically converts just about all checks presented in person orthrough the mail into electronic items for processing. With theenhancement of business check support, NOVA is the only electroniccheck service provider to utilize three processing methods for checks:direct DDA access, ACH processing, and Image Replacement Documents(IRD's), which utilize Check 21 processing rules.

The employees of Bill Ussery Motors, Inc., a leading Mercedes-Benzdealership in Miami, Florida, find ECS easy to use. "With ECS, we canrun every check through the same system we use for credit cardprocessing," said Ronit Canet, director of accounting & finance, BillUssery Motors. "Plus, we have peace of mind in knowing that funds areguaranteed for every consumer and business check approved by thesystem, and that we only have one company to deal with for all of ourpayment processing needs."

"The ability to support all checks presented any way means thatmerchants no longer need to support parallel processing methods fordifferent types of checks," said Amy Gutierrez, vice president,business development, NOVA. "Check deposit slips are eliminated andcash flow is improved, since merchants receive funding within 24-48hours."

NOVA's ECS service is supported on the same terminals, software,and VAR interfaces used for its credit card processing services. Theservice utilizes imaging technology, and NOVA's transaction networkseamlessly chooses the appropriate processing method based on the typeof check presented. All consumer and business checks can beelectronically imaged, routed, converted and deposited. Merchants canchoose a variety of risk management services: guarantee, verification,collections, or conversion only. The service was initially introducedin 2003 to support consumer checks, and NOVA now has over 6,500merchant locations up and running.

About NOVA

NOVA Information Systems, a leader in the payment processingindustry is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB).Combined, NOVA and its affiliate euroConex provide global merchantprocessing services to financial institutions and customers in theUnited States, Canada, and Europe. NOVA offers integrated paymentprocessing services to more than 800,000 merchants. For moreinformation visit www.novainfo.com.