SVPCO, the paper and electronic check exchange business of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., announced that Astoria Federal Savings and Loan has become the first S&L in the United States to exchange check images through the SVPCO Image Payments Network. Astoria Federal Savings is connecting to the network through the SVPCO Gateway DTA, which enables institutions to send and receive bulk files of images through the network.

    Astoria Federal Savings is using SVPCO's File Transfer Protocol option, a secure, low-cost, Internet-based connection that makes it easy for institutions to link to the SVPCO Image Payments Network and exchange check images. For all of 2007, the total number of images handled by the SVPCO Image Payments Network surged 376% from a year ago to 2.8 billion. Total dollar volume increased 167% to $5 trillion from 2006.

    "Our participation in the SVPCO Image Payments Network is an opportunity to streamline check processing operations and improve overall efficiency," said Josie Callari, Senior Vice President of Astoria Federal Savings. "The SVPCO Gateway DTA is a cost-efficient solution that meets our specific volume needs, will allow us to take advantage of the recent price declines in check image prices, and reduce the costs associated with the transporting of paper checks for clearing."

    The SVPCO Distributed Traffic Agent enables financial institutions with larger volumes to transmit check images directly to each other. The SVPCO Gateway DTA is a cost-effective solution designed for institutions with smaller volumes or who are interested in gradually increasing their image processing capabilities. The Image Payments Network can also be accessed through an institution's correspondent banking relationship or through a third-party processor. The Image Payments Network offers financial institutions a variety of connectivity options.

    "We're pleased to announce that Astoria Federal Savings has become the first S&L in the U.S. to connect to the SVPCO Image Payments Network," said Susan Long, Senior Vice President of The Clearing House, responsible for SVPCO. "The SVPCO Gateway DTA fits the specific volume needs of Astoria Federal Savings and will help achieve the institution's long-term objective of executing an image exchange strategy. With paper check prices rising and image prices declining, Astoria Federal Savings will immediately benefit from participating in the nation's largest image exchange network."

    The Clearing House is uniquely positioned to help financial institutions manage the migration of paper to electronic payments. We manage a full line of payment services including check clearing, electronic check presentment and check image exchange, ACH and wire. The Clearing House Payments Company offers operations training for its payment systems as well as seminars on hot topics in the industry. Most classes are presented via Web or Teleconference so any number of participates can join in from their locations.

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