Fifth Third Bank Signs Two Large Restaurant Franchisees to Industry-Leading Solution

CINCINNATI, June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fifth Third Bank has signed two large quick-serve restaurant franchisees, Heartland Food Corp. and C.H. James Restaurant Holdings LLC, to use the Bank's Remote Currency Manager (RCM) solution.

RCM is the Bank's remote cash capture product which works in coordination with smart-safe technology and bank-approved armored couriers. The solution allows those in a retail setting to focus on other matters rather than the security of their deposits.

"The Remote Currency Manager solution will become the standard for retail in the future," said Joel Aaseby, Chief Financial Officer of Heartland Food Corporation, the second largest Burger King franchisee in the country. "The solution provides significant benefits including increased safety and security in the restaurant, real labor savings and allowing management to spend more time with our guests."  

Clients gain daily provisional credit to their bank accounts while cash remains in the safe, enabling daily use of funds. The cash is transferred from the safe to the Bank via armored courier on a regular, predetermined schedule. In addition, clients can monitor their smart safe activity, including deposit and change order detail, online through Web-based information reporting.

"We were able to achieve a two-day reduction in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) by implementing Remote Currency Manager," said Michael Nicholas, Chief Financial Officer of C.H. James Restaurant Holdings, LLC. "This provided significant improvement in the availability of our cash and working capital."

With the signing, the RCM solution will add nearly 250 restaurants. Since the Remote Currency Manager product launched in 2007, Fifth Third Bank now has more than 100 customers that are using the service at nearly 4,000 different locations.  

"We are excited that Heartland Food Corp. and C.H. James Restaurant Holdings selected Remote Currency Manager to reengineer their cash collections process," said Jeff Ficke, senior vice president and Director of Treasury Management for Fifth Third Bank. "The Bank works hard to leverage strategic partnerships and help our customers manage their working capital more effectively."

The RCM solution fits into Fifth Third Bank's overall retail payments strategy, taking a holistic approach to receivables management. RCM is a first component of providing an integrated receivables suite of solutions for cash, checks and cards designed to meet the needs of the retail sector. For more information about Remote Currency Manager or other receivables solutions, visit www.53.com.

Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The Company has $113 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 1,309 full-service Banking Centers, including 102 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,359 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors.  Fifth Third also has a 49% interest in Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC.  Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2010, had $190 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $25 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations.  Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com.  Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Member FDIC.

SOURCE Fifth Third Bank