Headlines:
PyraMax Moves from Fiserv to Metavante Fiserv EFT Says Volume Climbed in 2005 Global Payments Signs Up Nine Casinos New National Information Sets Dividend
PyraMax Moves from Fiserv to Metavante
PyraMax Bank of Greenfield, Wis., has moved its core account-processing and most other operational and transactional systems to Metavante Corp. to help it reach new customer segments.
Monica Baker, PyraMax's senior vice president of marketing, said Tuesday that it converted most of the operational systems - including branch and teller systems, online banking, voice response, electronic funds transfer, and card services - in October. It began using marketing analytics software in January.
The $420.2 million-asset federal savings bank plans to begin using Metavante's customer profitability calculator next month.
Ms. Baker said that PyraMax wants to expand its commercial banking business, and the Metavante software would enable it to offer banking products to small and midsize businesses.
Pyramax previously relied primarily on systems hosted by the financial technology company Fiserv Inc. of Brookfield, Wis., Ms. Baker said. Her company spent more than a year reviewing vendors, she said.
"Metavante brought a very holistic approach," Ms. Baker said. It was "a refreshing change from what we had before, which was rather disjointed."
Paul T. Danola, the president and chief operating officer of Metavante's financial solutions group, said the integrated approach is winning it new customers. "We're seeing more and more of that," he said.
PyraMax, formed in May 2000 by the merger of South Milwaukee Savings Bank and Mitchell Savings Bank, has seven locations in the Milwaukee area.
Metavante, the technology subsidiary of the Milwaukee banking company Marshall & Ilsley Corp., announced the conversion at the end of February.
Fiserv EFT Says Volume Climbed in 2005
Volume across Fiserv Inc.'s debit and automated teller machine network, Fiserv EFT, rose 13% last year to a record 4.75 billion transactions.
The Brookfield, Wis., company said Monday that December was the network's busiest month ever, with 439 million transactions, 14% more than a year earlier.
Fiserv EFT has 2,700 bank and credit union customers and serves more than 17,000 ATMs.
"Fiserv EFT's core competency is providing outstanding transaction processing services to all touch points in the payments chain," said Grant Christenson, its chief executive, in a press release.
Global Payments Signs Up Nine Casinos
Nine U.S. and Canadian casinos have agreed to use cash-access products from Global Payments Inc.
The Atlanta payment processor announced Wednesday that the casinos would implement various components of its VIP LightSpeed cash-access product line, including check cashing, credit and debit card cash advances, and its recently introduced automated teller machine product, which allows people to initiate electronic check transactions at ATMs without assistance from casino employees.
The LightSpeed products can be used on computers with Internet connections to offer high-speed transaction processing.
The casinos are Horizon Casino Resort of Stateline, Nev.; Remington Park of Oklahoma City; The Stables Casino of Miami, Okla.; Kickapoo Casino of McLoud, Okla.; Deerfoot Inn and Casino of Alberta, Canada; Finger Lakes Racetrack of Farmington, N.Y.; Mazatzal Casino of Payson, Ariz.; Cher-Ae Heights Casino of Trinidad, Calif.; and Golden Nugget of Laughlin, Nev.
New National Information Sets Dividend
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. has announced plans to offer a quarterly dividend, of 5 cents per share.
The dividend will be payable March 30 to shareholders of record as of March 20.
Fidelity National Information Services is majority-owned by the Jacksonville, Fla., banking technology and title insurance company Fidelity National Financial Inc. It was created by the Feb. 1 merger of Fidelity National Financial's technology unit, which was known as Fidelity Information Services Inc., and the St. Petersburg, Fla., transaction processor Certegy Inc.
Each share of Fidelity Information, which had been privately held by Fidelity National Financial and two private equity companies, was exchanged for 0.6396 of a Certegy share. The new entity is publicly traded under the ticker symbol FIS.
