The agreement, which brings together the nation's two largest check image exchange systems, will provide financial institutions with a new opportunity to streamline their check processing operations and accelerate the adoption of check image exchange. Endpoint Exchange serves more than 4,000 community banks and mid-tier financial institutions across the country. SVPCO Image Payments Network works with the nation's largest financial institutions, and through its relationship with the Federal Reserve, reaches more than 10,000 endpoints.

"The connection between Endpoint Exchange Network and the SVPCO Image Payments Network represents a new day for the payments industry by making check image exchange a more viable strategy for all financial institutions," said Susan Long, Senior Vice President of The Clearing House, responsible for SVPCO-Electronic Clearing Services. "By working cooperatively, both networks are making it easier for financial institutions to reduce the costs and risks associated with paper checks."

Jim Fancher, general manager, Endpoint Exchange LLC, said: "The combined reach of SVPCO and Endpoint Exchange will provide an unprecedented level of check image exchange. One of the largest SVPCO clients, Wachovia Corp., is already live and exchanging check images with Endpoint Exchange member institutions across the country."

The Endpoint Exchange Network has been a leading electronic check image exchange provider for the financial services industry. Endpoint Exchange's support of all industry standard image exchange formats provides the full cross-platform interoperability that financial institutions need to exchange check images in a multi-lateral environment.

The SVPCO Image Payments Network, the largest private sector image exchange network by volume, offers financial institutions a variety of connectivity options. The SVPCO Distributed Traffic Agent (DTA) 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 ramping up their image exchange capabilities. The Image Payments Network can also be accessed through an institution's correspondent banking relationship or through a third-party processor.

Through March, participants in the SVPCO Image Payments Network include Bank of America, BB&T, Comerica Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First-Citizens Bank, HSBC Bank, Huntington National Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, KeyBank, LaSalle Bank, M&T Bank, National City Bank, PNC Bank, Sterling National Bank, Union Bank of California, U.S. Bank, Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. The SVPCO Image Payments Network can reach more than 10,000 endpoints through its relationship with the Federal Reserve and can help financial institutions of all sizes take advantage of image exchange.