Electronic Clearing House Inc., an electronic equipment manufacturer that also processes credit card transactions for merchants' banks, has transferred 4,800 merchant accounts to Charter Pacific Bank.
The small, technology-focused merchant processor announced its multi-year agreement with Charter Pacific after Westside Bank of Southern California, which had the accounts, was taken over by the Resolution Trust Corp.
The accounts will be transferred by the yearend.
Both electronic Clearing House and Charter Pacific are based in Agoura Hills, Calif.
All together, Electronic Clearing House handles about 5,500 accounts, providing credit card processing and check guarantees as well as point-of-sale equipment. The company works with just one other bank, Imperial Bank in Los Angeles.
"We're building back from a checkered financial past," Don Anderson, Electronic Clearing House's president
Electronic Clearing House-handles electronic authorization and draft capture and deposits for banks and merchants through a subsidiary, National Credit Card Reserve Corp. Another unit, Computer Based Controls, designs and develops terminals, software and related equipment.
Although it hopes to build its merchant business, Electronic Clearing House's growth has come from supplying equipment. According to Mr. Anderson, two years ago it started creating money order dispensers or American Express, which now owns 8,000 of the terminals.
The company also repairs equipment and offers to replace the malfunctioning items temporarily while in the shop.
"We plan to penetrate the bank card market, and provide more equipment with more horsepower," Mr. Anderson said.
