Fifth Third Processing Solutions Signs Two Credit Unions

CINCINNATI, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Education First Credit Union of Columbus, Ohio, and USA One Credit Union of Matteson, Illinois, have signed credit card processing agreements with Fifth Third Processing Solutions. The two credit unions pointed to Fifth Third Processing Solutions' partnership approach and proven experience growing yield and managing risk as the key reasons they selected the company as their new card processing partner.

For the $84 million Education First Credit Union, the move reflects the credit union's desire to enhance its $6 million card program and develop a competitive product that is more attractive to members. The credit union is leveraging Fifth Third Processing Solutions' Portfolio Consulting team to evaluate the portfolio's performance and identify growth strategies.

"Our goal is to make our credit card top of wallet," said Tara Neiswonger, CFO for Education First Credit Union. "In order to do this we need a more appealing product and a processing partner that can help us develop the right product mix for our members."

USA One Credit Union, with $40 million in assets, is looking to turn its card portfolio into a high-performing asset, through improved risk management and special promotions. It is Fifth Third Processing Solutions' proven marketing promotions that the credit union will be counting on to acquire new cardholders and drive usage.

"Fifth Third Processing Solutions has already provided guidance and an abundance of suggestions to improve our card portfolio, and we haven't even converted," said Karen Gilliam-Brown, CFO of USA One Credit Union. "We are confident they will strengthen our card product offerings and help us grow the portfolio."

Both credit unions will have access to easy-to-use portfolio management tools, which enable them to internally manage daily monetary adjustments, including fees, balance transfers, and routine cardholder account updates. Online reporting capabilities related to settlement, collections, and delinquencies will also be easily available online, giving the credit unions the ability to evaluate card performance, identify revenue opportunities, and spot portfolio trends.

"We are pleased that Education First and USA One have become valued partners.  We are confident that our portfolio management tools will assist them in helping to increase the performance of their card portfolios," said Royal Cole, President, Financial Institution Services for Fifth Third Processing Solutions. "These two credit unions recognize that to grow their card programs they need more than a processing platform, they need a partner that is invested in their success."

USA One Credit Union was founded in 1986 primarily to serve smaller companies, those with fewer than 200 employees. Today the credit union serves more than 9,000 members in the Chicago area.  Learn more at www.usaonecu.com.

Education First Credit Union (formerly MidState Educators Credit Union) was founded in 1936 to serve those in the education field in Ohio. The credit union currently has 18,600 members and two branches in Columbus.  Learn more at www.educu.org.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC delivers innovative payment transaction processing and acceptance solutions to create and support complex payment strategies for merchants, businesses, and financial institutions around the world. A pioneer in card payment acceptance in the early 1970s, Fifth Third Processing Solutions is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and is a joint venture with Advent International and Fifth Third Bank, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)

As a premier full service payment solutions provider, the Company provides servicing solutions and product engineering for financial institutions' and retailers' credit card, debit card, merchant and private label programs processing over 33.3 billion ATM and point of sale transactions and over $344 billion in debit and credit card sales volume annually. Its subsidiary, NPC is the largest provider of payment processing services exclusively focused on the small-to-medium merchant processing market.  The Company supports over 180,000 merchant and financial institution locations and 11,000 ATMs in 44 states and 11 countries. According to the Nilson Report (March 2010), the Company is the third largest U.S. merchant transaction acquirer. Learn more at www.FTPSLLC.com.

SOURCE Fifth Third Processing Solutions