For Immediate Release
PRESS RELEASE
UPIC Payments Reach All-Time High In Third Quarter 2008
Five More Banks Now Offering UPICs To Their Customers;
Transaction Volume Grows Strongly Compared To Year Ago
New York, October 16, 2008 – Accelerating usage of UPICs by public and private sector entities across the U.S propelled UPIC payments to a record $4 billion in the third quarter of 2008, up 61% compared to the same period a year ago.
Additionally, since the beginning of 2008, five more banks began issuing UPICs, including BB&T, CoBiz Bank, Comerica Bank, Hancock Bank and KeyBank. A total of 20 institutions are now offering UPICs, which are unique account identifiers issued by financial institutions to allow organizations to receive electronic payments without divulging confidential banking information.
“UPIC adoption and volume continue to progress strongly as more public and private sector organizations seek to combat the growing problem of fraudulent payments,” said Rossana Salaris, Senior Vice President of The Clearing House, responsible for EPN. “UPICs help companies and other entities solve the problems associated with receiving electronic payments from their trading partners. UPICs are one of the most effective ways to minimize risk and facilitate safe, secure B-to-B electronic payments.”
In the third quarter of 2008, EPN reported the following UPIC highlights:
§ 176,011 UPIC payments, up 125% from 78,066 payments in the third quarter of 2007.
§ $4.07 billion in value, up 61% from $2.53 billion in the third quarter of 2007.
§ Since the inception of the UPIC in 2002, there have been more than 798,999 UPIC payments totaling $26.7 billion. A total of 588 UPICs have been issued to public and private entities by financial institutions across the United States.
A UPIC is for credit payments only and thus lowers the possibility of unauthorized debits, checks and demand drafts. The UPIC was developed by the Electronic Payments Network (EPN), the ACH business of The Clearing House, in conjunction with the financial services industry.
UPICs are currently being used by public and private organizations, including Georgia Pacific, University of Florida, the Oregon State Treasurer’s Office, Dell Inc., Benefit Resource Inc., NACHA, Financial Medical Systems, University of Notre Dame and Verizon.
Through the third quarter of 2008, banks offering UPICs include BB&T, Citibank, Comerica Bank, CoBiz Bank, Commerce Bank, Hancock Bank, HSBC Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, M&T Bank, The Bank of New York Mellon, PeoplesBank, PNC Bank, State Bank of Long Island, Sterling National Bank, SunTrust Bank, Union Bank of California, U.S. Bank and Wachovia Bank.
How A UPIC Works
No system changes are needed to accounts payable, accounts receivable or cash management systems to use a UPIC. A UPIC looks and acts like a standard bank account number, and travels through the ACH network with the Universal Routing and Transit number. However, a UPIC can only be used for ACH credit payments. A UPIC cannot be used to electronically debit an organization's account or create a check or demand draft, thus reducing the risk of unauthorized debits. The UPIC can be printed on invoices, provided on matching gift forms and displayed on the Internet. Account information is kept private.
A UPIC becomes an organization's permanent electronic payment address. The portability of the UPIC reduces the effort required in changing accounts due to bank mergers or changes in banking relationships, including the cost of communicating new bank account information to trading partners.
To find out if your financial institution offers UPIC or for more information, go to www.upic.com or contact Sharon Jablon, 212.613.0178, or sharon.jablon@epaynetwork.com.
About EPN and The Clearing House
The Electronic Payments Network (www.epaynetwork.com), is The Clearing House’s national ACH operator, serving more than 1,500 commercial banks, credit unions and savings banks. With ACH, wire and check image, The Clearing House clears and settles more than 40 million payments with a value of $2.4 trillion each day. The Clearing House's Strategic Forum brings together financial institutions to discuss and take action on payments industry issues, while its bank association addresses legal and regulatory matters of critical importance to its members. For more information, visit www.theclearinghouse.org.
The Clearing House Contacts
Chip Savidge, Office: 336.769.5321, Mobile: 917.576.0957, chip.savidge@theclearinghouse.org
Greg Berardi, Office: 415.239.7826, Mobile: 415.672.2377, greg@bluemarlinpartners.com
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