SIBOS - Atlanta, October 13, 2004 - JPMorgan Treasury Services, www.jpmorgan.com/ts, a unit of JPMorgan Chase and a leader in global payments, trade finance and treasury management, announced it is planning to open a remote check image capture site in Europe. The site will allow clients in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia to take advantage of benefits from the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21). Check 21 will facilitate the use of electronic images of checks by allowing the creation of Substitute Checks from images of the originals -- and requiring banks to accept, through the clearing and return processing, these Substitute Checks as the legal equivalent of an original check.
JPMorgan's financial institution clients in EMEA and Asia will ultimately be able to eliminate the need to pay for the physical transportion of checks to the U.S. for presentment, minimizing courier costs. Additional benefits include reduced risks related to transportation loss, faster identification of fraudulent items, as well as greater efficiencies and eventual reductions in processing costs.
Check 21, which takes effect on October 28, 2004, will provide U.S. banks with the ability to improve U.S. check clearing efficiency. The regulation enables financial institutions to eliminate the original check in the check clearing process, by designating the copy of an electronic check image to be the legal equivalent of an original paper check for final presentment or return. JPMorgan is providing financial institution partners with information that can be used to educate their clients about this change in check processing protocol.
"As a global leader in check processing, JPMorgan is committed to staying on the cutting edge of product development and providing our clients with the latest innovations," said Lisa Robins, senior vice president and global head of check deposit services, JPMorgan Treasury Services. "In leveraging our international capabilities, we are able to bring the many significant benefits of Check 21 to our valued clients based outside the U.S."
Remote image capture will be available to JPMorgan customers throughout EMEA, as well as in Asia in early 2005.
"By taking a holistic approach, JPMorgan provides a flexible infrastructure capable of supporting the full processing cycle, from the issuance of payments to the eventual capture of the cancelled check," explained Robins. "As a trusted banking partner, JPMorgan prides itself on being able to offer the best possible solutions for our clients around the world."
About Check 21
With Check 21, clients who currently receive their actual original cancelled checks in their statement may no longer receive the original paper check, but have the potential of receiving a Substitute Check. Also, returned checks may not be the original of the check but a Substitute Check. Under these circumstances, the Substitute Check will be a specific type of an image replacement document, which must meet the standards of the regulations for Check 21. Receiving a Substitute Check is much like the current practice of receiving an indemnified photocopy in the event the original has been destroyed or lost in the presentment or return process. All financial institutions should anticipate communicating to their customers the potential of receiving these Substitute Check returns.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.1 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has its corporate headquarters in New York and its U.S. retail financial services and commercial banking headquarters in Chicago. Under the JPMorgan, Chase and Bank One brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
About JPMorgan Treasury Services
JPMorgan Treasury Services (www.jpmorgan.com/ts), a unit of JPMorgan Chase Bank, is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity and investment management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. As a leader in U.S. dollar and cross-border payments, JPMorgan Treasury Services processes up to $2.3 trillion in U.S. dollar wire payments daily and has been the number-one ACH originator since the inception of the network some 29 years ago. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 36 countries, JPMorgan Treasury Services is the world's largest provider of treasury management services.
