Claudio Lai, CTO, of Trustcash commented: "Our work with Electracash to add ACH processing functionality to our service offerings has been successful. We have processed a number of ACH transactions and look forward to our clients taking advantage of ACH for their payment services needs."

The addition of ACH is an important step in broadening the marketability of the Trustcash payment system. This advance will provide Trustcash the opportunity to tap into the large ACH processing market.

The following provides some insight into the business of ACH processing:

1. What is ACH? According to NACHA (the electronic payments association, www.nacha.org):

The Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network

The ACH Network is a highly reliable and efficient nationwide batch- oriented electronic funds transfer system governed by the NACHA OPERATING RULES which provide for the interbank clearing of electronic payments for participating depository financial institutions. The Federal Reserve and Electronic Payments Network act as ACH Operators, central clearing facilities through which financial institutions transmit or receive ACH entries.

ACH payments include:

• -Direct Deposit of payroll, Social Security and other government benefits, and tax refunds;
  
• Direct Payment of consumer bills such as mortgages, loans, utility bills and insurance premiums;
  
• Business-to-business payments;
  
• E-checks;
  
• E-commerce payments;
  
• Federal, state and local tax payments.

The number of ACH payments originated by financial institutions increased to 8.05 billion in 2002, up 13.6 percent from 2001. These payments were valued at $21.7 trillion. Including payments originated by the Federal government, there were a total of 8.94 billion ACH payments in 2002 worth more than $24.4 trillion.

2. In an industry article the website www. ACOM.com declares: "ACH: The Paperless Payment Solution for Today"

In 2000, 41.9 billion checks were issued, compared with 36.7 billion in 2003, a compounded annual rate of decline of -4.3 percent. During the same period, ACH payments grew from 6.2 billion to 9.1 billion, a 13.4 percent compounded annual growth rate. Significantly, while total payments continued to increase, the ratio of checks to ACH payments continued to favor ACH and the trend continues. According to current NACHA reports, there were nearly 14 billion ACH payments in 2005, an increase of 16.2 percent over 2004.