VECTOR:ImageEX, part of the VECTOR Image Exchange Solution, positions financial institutions to transmit items quickly over a secure, managed network, shortening the traditional settlement process. Using VECTOR:ImageEX, Frost has transmitted high-dollar checks each day since February 28, 2005.

"VECTOR:ImageEX enables Frost to extend its deposit window with the Federal Reserve, increasing the volume of items able to be delivered for specific Federal Reserve deadlines," said David Rathke, vice president of Frost. "Automatically transmitting high-dollar items to the Federal Reserve on a daily basis eliminates the chance of human error, improves efficiency and positions Frost to confidently escalate its check image exchange volume."

"The Federal Reserve Banks are excited to provide our customers with access to image deposit and presentment services that can help them realize the benefits of Check 21. Our collaboration with Frost Bank and many other innovative organizations is leading the industry toward a more efficient and effective payments system," commented Diane Holloway, assistant vice president, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Frost's high-dollar items are transmitted to the Federal Reserve from each of the bank's three locations. VECTOR:ImageEX ensures the format of the X9.37 file is in the appropriate Federal Reserve format before transmitting.

"Frost sets a strong example for all financial institutions wanting to derive the maximum benefits from check image exchange," said Sydney Smith Hicks, president of VECTORsgi. "What we see now is just the beginning of an inevitable evolution of the check payments system. Forward-looking financial institutions, such as Frost, are already taking advantage of improved efficiencies and reduced costs. VECTORsgi's trusted check imaging solutions provide the technology and support necessary to exponentially increase these benefits."

The leading provider of image exchange solutions, VECTORsgi has been selected by nearly 50 per cent of the large banks that have made an image exchange software decision. TowerGroup estimates that VECTORsgi's current customers represent 40 per cent of the future volume of image exchange.

Separately, VECTORsgi, a Metavante company and leading provider of financial transaction applications, announced the addition of VECTOR:MICR-Complete, a system that captures the complete magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line and ensures compliance for image exchange files sent to the Federal Reserve and the faithful reproduction requirement of Check 21 for image-replacement document (IRD) creation.

Currently, most large banks are configured to capture complete MICR information for on-us items, but may not capture complete information or may truncate MICR fields on transit items. This type of capture often drops numbers and excludes dashes that appear in the MICR line of the original item, thus limiting the image's suitability for IRD creation. Check 21 legislation as well as certain image exchange networks such as the Federal Reserve Bank's requires the inclusion of the MICR line in its entirety prior to any truncation, encompassing both numbers and dashes.

"In the Check 21 world, we wanted a process that would enable capture of all digits from the MICR line, but allow us to avoid a costly reconfiguration of our check processing control system (CPCS)," said David Rathke, vice president of San Antonio -based Frost Bank. "VECTOR:MICR-Complete provided a quick, easy-to-implement solution while meeting regulatory mandates."

When the bank's image exchange system extracts images for either image exchange or to create IRDs, VECTOR:MICR-Complete includes the complete MICR information (including dashes) and merges it with the check system data to create a file acceptable to the image exchange networks. VECTOR:MICR-Complete supports most sorting, image capture, data capture and image exchange systems.

"As the leading provider of check image exchange solutions, VECTORsgi is committed to developing effective tools for both complete and accurate check imaging in the Check 21 world," said Sydney Smith Hicks, president of VECTORsgi. "VECTOR:MICR-Complete enables total information inclusion for check image exchange in a least cost manner, avoiding the complexity and costs of major check processing control system upgrades."