The ARC platform will enable First National to convert certain paper checks into electronic transactions that can then be processed through the Automated Clearing House.

First National also will be the first CTAC customer to use Clearingworks' ZeroPass capabilities to originate its ARC transactions. ZeroPass, the recently announced collaboration of OPEX Corporation's hardware and US Dataworks' software, will give First National Bank of Omaha the ability to open, extract, sort and convert payments to an electronic form in just one step.

"We are delighted to partner with US Dataworks and the Federal Reserve System to offer ARC services and further our vision of offering the latest technology based products to our customers," said Russ Oatman, Senior Vice President and Division Head of First Financial Services, a division of FNBO.

Recent changes in the National Automated Clearing House (NACHA) rules coupled with the passage into law of Check-21 now make it possible for banks, retailers and billers to electronically process paper checks and all other forms of payments. The transition to electronic processing is expected to create greater efficiencies and immediate cost savings for the banking, retail and remittance industries.

"CTAC enables banks of all sizes to take advantage of the potential cost savings of converting paper checks into electronic transmissions, without significant capital expenditures," said Terry Stepanik, president and COO, US Dataworks. "First National is the first of what we hope will be many financial institutions to utilize CTAC and Clearingworks."