WAUSAU Financial Systems and Aite Group Find Financial Institutions are Preferred Receivables Provider

MOSINEE, Wis., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies in today's economy are increasingly cognizant that corporate receivables represents one the largest and most liquid assets, and the best way to increase working capital. Yet, according to research WAUSAU Financial Systems commissioned from Aite Group, nearly 60 percent of the U.S. companies surveyed are not fully satisfied with their receivables processing.

Nearly half of respondents say financial institutions would be the preferred providers of an integrated receivables platform, a solution that seamlessly integrates payments received from multiple sources and business applications to aggregate disparate payment channels, and accelerate cash and information through a uniform data stream.

"Companies are faced with growing complexities of payments by various types and through various channels and favor financial institutions to help them address challenges," said Nancy Atkinson, senior analyst, Aite Group. "The study shows that companies on average use more than one financial institution and generally are satisfied with their performance. And those banks that do not currently operate as a receivables financial institution have an enormous opportunity to do so."

Seventy percent of companies currently are processing their receivables in house. And, while credit is incredibly important for companies that choose a financial institution to get an integrated receivables platform, more than 70 percent of companies "might or might not consider" switching their current financial institution. The appetite for improved receivables processing represents opportunity for financial institutions to capture business or for corporations to work with a vendor to outsource their receivables.

"Integrating receivables has become even more critical to corporations that want to reinvent and enhance the receivables process," said Kathy Strasser, executive vice president of solution management for WAUSAU Financial Systems. "Companies are looking to financial institutions to provide them with an innovative solution that helps increase the availability of cash within their organization. WAUSAU Financial Systems designed ReceivableWorks™ to do just that. ReceivableWorks aggregates, automates and accelerates the entire receivables process, reducing capture time, handling exception items with ease and monitoring workflow in real time."

The ReceivableWorks™ platform aggregates payment information, images and data from multiple payment channels, such as lockbox, wire transfers, ACH and cards. WAUSAU has developed an extensive library of more than 1,500 interfaces into card processing systems, billing systems, and clearing and settlement organizations. This library simplifies adding new and emerging payment channels and types as corporate customers demand them. Furthermore, ReceivableWorks automates and accelerates the application of cash and information through a uniform data stream. This type of solution is timely in generating new revenue to offset increased regulatory costs and mediocre loan demand.

Roughly half of payments currently require manual intervention to complete processing, taking up valuable resources. Cash application blockage occurs when payments are not automatically posted to internal accounting systems. For instance, companies have an average days sales outstanding of nearly 45 days, well in excess of standard payment terms of 30 days. Faced with such issues, nearly 55 percent of respondents say they expect their company to implement an integrated receivables hub within the next two years.

Aite Group and WAUSAU Financial Systems will discuss the research findings in a SourceMedia webinar on September 28. To register, visit http://www.americanbanker.com/webseminars/-1024264-1.html?st=Cust&s=sponsor. A copy of the executive summary of the research can be found at www.wausaufs.com/integratedreceivables.

Survey Methodology

A total of 80 surveys were completed via online interviewing between March 26 and April 12, 2010. Individuals who qualified for participation in the study are employed by an organization with revenues of U.S. $1 billion or more and have primary responsibility or considerable involvement in decisions about receivables management. The 80 surveys took an average of 11 minutes for respondents to complete. In addition, 10 in-depth interviews were conducted via telephone by analysts from Aite Group who have extensive experience with receivables and treasury management processes. These 15-minute interviews were conducted with individuals meeting the same qualifications for the size of their organization and their own level of responsibility.

About WAUSAU Financial Systems

WAUSAU Financial Systems is a premier provider of payment and receivables processing solutions, helping businesses of all types move money faster. With its products, services and consulting, WAUSAU works with customers to speed check processing, electronic presentment, ACH payments, transaction processing, distributed capture and enterprise content management. WAUSAU holds the No. 1 market share position in retail and wholesale remittance processing solutions. WAUSAU processes more than $1 trillion in payments each year through its work with more than 650 organizations, and maintains more than 30 percent of all U.S. lockbox volume. The company works with 13 of the 25 largest financial institutions, 42 percent of insurance companies with more than 5 million customers and 24 percent of utilities with more than 100,000 customers. More than 200 financial institutions use WAUSAU's remote deposit capture service, and industry consultants Celent and Aite have ranked WAUSAU's remote capture functionality above all competitors. For more information, visit www.wausaufs.com.

About Aite Group

Aite Group is a leading independent research and advisory firm focused on business, technology and regulatory issues and their impact on the financial services industry. It was founded by leading industry experts in Banking and Securities & Investments. Aite Group brings together a team of business strategy, technology and regulatory experts to deliver comprehensive, timely, and actionable advice to financial institutions and technology vendors. It seeks to become a true partner, advisor, and catalyst by exchanging ideas and challenging basic assumptions to ensure that our clients always stay one step ahead of the competition. For more information, visit www.aitegroup.com.

SOURCE WAUSAU Financial Systems