Viewpointe Marks Milestone For Check21

NEW YORK - (05/17/06) -- Viewpointe announced Tuesday it hasbecome the first check clearing network to successfully connectwith the Federal Reserve banks, allowing its customers to send andreceive check images with all financial institutions in the U.S.The connection allows Viewpointe's customers, which handle as muchas half the check volume in the country, to route image files toevery bank, thrift and credit union in the country, and importantbreakthrough in the implementation of the Check 21 Act. The linkwith the Fed means that Viewpointe's users can send entire checkvolumes across electronic networks. SunTrust Bank was the firstViewpointe customer to take advantage of the connection and hasbegun using the Fed link to clear checks for smaller correspondentbanks. Those banks send image files to SunTrust, which clears thechecks drawn on other Viewpointe members through the Viewpointearchive, and sends checks drawn on non-Viewpointe members throughthe Fed's network. Thousands of credit unions are connected toViewpointe through relationships with Viewpointe customers likeSouthwest Corporate FCU, Fiserv and Endpoint Exchange, the clearingnetwork owned by Metavante. Viewpointe is owned by Bank of America,JP Morgan Chase and IBM.