Unit of Alltel Farms Out Check Imaging Job for Bank of the West to

Alltel Information Services Inc. has signed a five-year, multimillion dollar contract under which Unisys Corp. will provide check image processing services to Alltel customer Bank of the West.

The deal comes a month after Alltel announced its intention to exit check image processing by selling the business to rival Fiserv Inc. in Milwaukee.

Bank of the West, a $4 billion-asset commercial bank based in San Francisco, retains a long-term contract with Alltel that covers data processing, application development, and item processing.

Rather than disturb the single-vendor relationship by going with Fiserv for check processing, Bank of the West instead asked Alltel to search for a subcontractor that could assume the Alltel's item processing role.

That Unisys would step in to take such a contract is not surprising. The Blue Bell, Pa.-based company is one of pioneering providers of check image processing systems, and it is eager to branch out from hardware sales into more consultative services.

However, Bank of the West's insistence on sticking with Alltel is somewhat surprising, since most of the Alltel's item processing clients are expected to migrate to Fiserv. Alltel, based in Little Rock, Ark., provided retail check processing and corporate lockbox services to more than 200 banks and thrifts.

As a subcontractor, Unisys will assume responsibility for an existing Alltel image item processing facility located in Concord, Calif.

Unisys said it intends to use the center to provide item processing services to other financial institutions said Brian Daly, a spokesman for Unisys. He added that the outsourcing agreement illustrates Unisys' ability to provide complete information management services, and is in line with the company's overall direction.

Unisys provides hardware to a number of financial institutions and outsourcers, including Signet Banking Corp., Barnett Banks Inc., and Fiserv Inc.

In the Bank of the West deal, Unisys will provide both retail and wholesale check image applications.

Bank of the West already delivers image statements to 70,000 customers. It will continue to deliver the statements to more clients, said Don Ward, executive vice president, systems.

According to bank officials, over 95% of all new Bank of the West customers have chosen to receive image statements, which consist of pages of printed images of checks rather than the checks themselves.

The bank also will be working with Alltel and Unisys to develop additional corporate services, including the delivery of check images on CD-ROM, to make account reconcilement easier, said Mr. Ward.

The hardware producing these services hails mainly from Unisys. IA Corp. of Emeryville, Calif. provides software that allows for image archiving and statement production.

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