BankWest of Nevada Relies on Creditron Inc.'s RP$ Platform to Support New Lockbox Processing Services

Bank Wins 8 Lockbox Clients In 7 Months With Creditron Technology

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada, January 10th, 2006 – Creditron Inc., a leading provider of payments solutions, today announced that BankWest of Nevada has implemented Creditron RP$ software and services to automate and manage its new lockbox processing services.  Creditron’s U.S. corporate office in Santa Ana, CA sold the solution to BankWest of Nevada.   

A subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation, BankWest of Nevada provides a full range of banking and related services to locally owned businesses, professional firms, real estate developers and investors, non-profit groups, high net worth individuals, and other consumers in Nevada.  As part of its commitment to customer service, BankWest of Nevada made the decision in late 2004 to purchase an in-house IT solution to deliver local lockbox services.  Previously, only lockbox processors in Arizona and California served Nevada, which meant an out-of-state mailing address for payments and frequent delays in funds availability.

After months of evaluating five lockbox solutions, BankWest of Nevada chose Creditron for its operational efficiency, flexibility in handling any transaction type, and its system value. “It’s all about improving how we service our clients,” said Kim Masias, IT customer support officer at BankWest of Nevada.  “We take pride in offering the same services as large banks, but in a more personalized way.  Creditron brings lockbox expertise in both software and services.  We are confident that both our internal and external customers will applaud the capabilities that we are delivering by leveraging Creditron’s payments processing solution.”

“BankWest of Nevada has built a reputation for providing customer service above and beyond the norm,” said Creditron President Wally Vogel.  “We are proud that Creditron’s scalable, flexible lockbox technology will contribute to maintaining that reputation.”

In May 2005, BankWest of Nevada began live production with its RP$ platform running on an NCR iTRAN 300e document sorter.  The new system is extremely efficient and highly flexible.  It also offers a wide spectrum of features, including lockbox extensions, courtesy and legal amount recognition, and multi-bank and fine-sort capabilities, which automatically sorts checks after they are processed, and inserts prepared deposit tickets for each depository institution.  For BankWest of Nevada, multi-bank functionality is key to processing work on behalf of a client that requires payments be deposited into over 40 different bank accounts.

BankWest of Nevada also uses Creditron’s RightPass module, which combines the benefits of one and two-pass transaction systems by automatically processing matched or balanced payments in the first pass; only exceptions are out-sorted to a second pass for image data completion.  With RightPass, BankWest of Nevada is completing 65 to 70 percent of its items on the first pass, greatly improving system efficiency and reducing paper handling.  

Through BankWest of Nevada’s investment in its RP$ platform, the bank has quickly grown its lockbox business from one client to six clients representing over 100 lockbox accounts and more than 100,000 items a month.  The growth is a result of positive “word of mouth” in the business community, Masias said, adding that the bank held an “operations open house” for its business development staff to demonstrate the RP$ system and show the types of work that it can automate.  The bank’s current lockbox volume includes city utility payments, HOA dues, medical payments, lease payments, and basic accounts receivables transactions.  While the bank has emphasized the RP$ system’s ability to automate recurring payments with remittance coupons, it is processing many transactions that include 8 ½ x 11 invoices.

BankWest of Nevada doesn’t anticipate a slowdown in the growth its lockbox services.  The bank is adding two lockbox clients this month, and expects to bring on another five or six clients next year, doubling its monthly lockbox volumes.  Future plans call for BankWest of Nevada to also use its RP$ platform to process lockbox payments on behalf of its sister banks in San Diego and Phoenix – providing an alternative to the “mega-financial institutions.”

Masias is confident that RP$ will support this growth: “We could double our volume without additional equipment or staff, assuming the mix of work is similar to what we now process.”    “With RP$, we are satisfied that we are delivering enhanced services to our customers, while maintaining efficiency,” Masias said.  “Our confidence in Creditron and its technology was a key factor in our decision to install the RP$ system, and that confidence has not wavered.”

About Creditron Inc.
Founded in 1994, Creditron Inc. is a leading provider of payment processing software and services. Its solutions combine industry standard operating systems and advanced imaging, scanning and data recognition technology to help low and mid-volume remittance processors optimize operations performance and improve customer service. The company’s 165 North American customers process more than 200 million transactions annually, representing over $50 billion. Creditron is a Microsoft Certified Partner, a Microsoft Great Plains Solution Partner, an HTE alliance partner, and an authorized reseller for NCR payments systems in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, call 800-704-8777 or visit www.creditron.com.

#      #      #