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ECHO
Press Releases 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Electronic
Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO)
Extends Partnership with EZCheck
Long-Term
Processing Agreement for Automated Clearing House and Authorization
Processing Services Extended
Camarillo, Calif., April 13,
2006 -
Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECHO), a
leading provider of electronic payment and transaction processing
services, announced today that it has signed a three-year agreement
extending its long-standing partnership with EZCheck® Check
Services, Inc., a leading check conversion and authorization
company. Under this new agreement EZCheck will continue to utilize ECHO's
Automated Clearing House (ACH) and authorization processing
services, including risk management services, to augment its own
check processing and check conversion infrastructure.
Through ECHO's range of
products and access to other third party databases, EZCheck will be
able to secure additional resources that aid in negative data
acquisition, risk management integration and ultimately reduction of
a merchant's bad check experience. These resources, along with the
robust ACH and transaction processing services supplied by ECHO,
enable EZCheck to provide a suite of quality products and services
to its merchant customers.
"We are very pleased to be
continuing our partnership with EZCheck, an organization that truly
leads the market in providing check services to its clients,"
said Charles Harris, President and COO, ECHO. "ECHO
is excited that we remain the processor of choice for a company of
this caliber. Going forward, we believe our relationship with
EZCheck will result in a greatly expanded channel for our services
to meet the market's needs. The fact that EZCheck has chosen to
continue this partnership is confirmation that our services and
expertise support both the needs of our partners and merchant
end-users. Ultimately, our mutual goal is to ensure that retailers
enjoy tremendous savings due to reduced fraud, elimination of paper
processing and minimal check returns."
"We believe no other processor
can provide the same range of payment services, in ACH and paper
check services, and also in our other payment processing
products," Harris added.
"EZCheck has enjoyed a long-term
relationship with ECHO, having partnered with them since
1999," said Randy Rutledge, President and CEO, EZCheck Check
Services. "ECHO's ACH processing services have proven to
be exceptionally reliable and this partnership gives EZCheck a
strategic and technological advantage in the market. The National
Check Network authorization database is, we believe, second to none.
When combined with ECHO's other check risk management
capabilities, we are ideally positioned to offer the best in check
services to our clients," Rutledge added.
About Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
(ECHO)
ECHO (www.echo-inc.com)
provides a complete solution to the payment processing needs of
merchants, banks and collection agencies. ECHO's services
include debit and credit card processing, check guarantee, check
verification, check conversion, check re-presentment, and check
collection.
About EZCheck® Check Services, Inc.
EZCheck is a leading information and
payment services company serving thousands of businesses nationwide
in a wide variety of industries. As one of the initial pioneers in
electronic check conversion at the retail point-of-sale, EZCheck has
leveraged its advanced technology and systems to expand its product
line into adjacent markets including accounts receivable conversion
and recurring payments services. In addition, EZCheck provides a
complete line of check guarantee, check verification and collection
services to the retail community and is ranked among the top
providers of check services in the country. EZCheck is dedicated to
providing unsurpassed value and service to its customers. The
company markets through a national network of independent sales
organizations and supports operations from its headquarters in
Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit EZCheck's web
site at www.ezchk.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set
forth above that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements
included in this press release include the potential for expansion
of ECHO's check guarantee business and the continued strong
demand for ECHO's check products. Potential risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
include, but are not limited to, such factors as fluctuations in
demand for the Company's products and services, the introduction of
new products and services, the Company's ability to maintain
customer and strategic business relationships, technological
advancements, impact of competitive products and services and
pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of the Company's
liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other
information detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
Donna Rehman, 805-419-8533
corp@ECHO-inc.com
http://www.echo-inc.com
or
Financial Relations Board
Erin Cox, 310-854-8319
ecox@financialrelationsboard.com
or
EZCheck Check Services, Inc.
Randy Rutledge, 800-797-5302
randyr@ezchk.com
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