NEW YORK – Viewpointe Archive Services, one of three major check and image exchanges, yesterday said it has eased the way for small credit unions and banks to connect to its Pointe2Pointe image-exchange network via the Internet.
The company said the new system will allow small institutions to use Internet connections to access the network, doing away with the need to install dedicated telecommunications connections.
Viewpointe said the Internet is most efficient for credit unions and banks processing 75 million or fewer images per year. At volume levels above that threshold, Internet connections tend to choke on the bulky check files, slowing down transaction times.
Viewpointe is the second network controlled by large banks to introduce Internet connectivity to induce smaller institutions to participate in image exchange, following SVPCO, an electronic check-processing unit owned by The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC.
Viewpointe is owned by Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp, IBM Corp., JPMorgan Chase, SunTrust Banks, and Wells Fargo. SVPCO is owned by the 25 largest banks in the U.S., including many of those who own Viewpointe.
