"Our more than two decades
of payment expertise in credit card and eCheck
processing supplies our merchant account clients and
partners like Professional Solutions with convenient,
reliable and cost effective payment processing," Chuck
Harris, President and CEO, explained. "We will be
marketing in tandem with Professional Solutions to
ensure that each one of its clients fully appreciates
the value we provide, both in smooth integration to the
ProCare solution and in competitive pricing."
"This single source
solution will support the rapid growth that Professional
Solutions' Tuition Express service has experienced over
the last few years. Our clients will benefit from the
combination of the operational efficiencies of Tuition
Express enhanced by ECHO's leading electronic
payment technology and services. This partnership will
provide our clients with the most efficient electronic
payment processing experience possible," said Jeffrey
Blum, President, Professional Solutions.
As a premier payment
processor, ECHO will support the front end and
back end of Tuition Express' payment processing module,
enabling processing of both credit cards and electronic
checks. Tuition Express will now have a single processor
for all of its ACH and credit card processing,
leveraging ECHO's superior services for both
Professional Solutions and its Tuition Express Users.
"Professional Solutions
is a market leader in childcare management solutions.
The agreement with ECHO provides us with a great
opportunity to further extend our Tuition Express
services to assist ProCare users nationwide in the
collection of their childcare related payments," said
Kurtis Hutsell, Vice President of Financial Operations
for Professional Solutions.
ECHO and
Professional Solutions have already begun to roll out
the initiatives outlined in the agreement.
About Electronic
Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO):
A merchant account with
ECHO (www.echo-inc.com)
provides a fully integrated payment processing suite,
including credit card processing, electronic check
conversion (ECC), eChecks (ACH), check guarantee, check
verification, check collection and debit cards.
Merchants nationwide benefit from ECHO's wide
ranging payment services available through the company's
dedicated sales force or through channels that include
technology partnerships, banks, collection agencies and
other acquiring entities.
About Professional
Solutions:
Professional Solutions,
developers of ProCare Center Management System, is the
industry leader in childcare management software
solutions. Professional Solutions continues to advance
the standard of childcare management, with a focused
commitment to help childcare providers achieve
excellence in business. Through the company's
innovation, research and development ProCare delivers
the most efficient, user friendly software solution
available to the childcare industry. By maintaining its
finger on the pulse of the childcare industry,
Professional Solutions introduced its Tuition Express
Service in 2003. Users now collect all their childcare
payments electronically. Tuition Express is the fastest
growing segment of the company, generating significant
recurring revenue to the company's bottom line.
Professional Solutions continues to keep its eye on the
horizon, swiftly addressing the childcare industries
software needs well into the 21st century. For further
information, please visit the Professional Solutions web
site at
www.procaresoftware.com. The site offers in-depth
information about ProCare Software's suite of childcare
management software solutions and its Tuition Express
Service.
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
statement regarding the benefits of the technology
partnership with Professional Solutions to ECHO.
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.