As a result, Synovus, which is a holding company of over 41 banks in the Southeast, will become the first multi-bank holding company eligible to directly exchange check images with other Viewpointe's bank members: Bank of America, BB&T, Compass Bank, JP Morgan Chase, First Horizon, HSBC Bank USA, Harris N.A., National City, SunTrust, US Bancorp, Wells Fargo and Zions.

While banks that are participating in Viewpointe's national check image archive service are already participating in image clearing through Viewpointe's unique ImageShare service, Synovus' banks will take advantage of Viewpointe's Pointe2Pointe exchange services.

Pointe2Pointe enables any financial institution to safely and directly send and receive check images, rather than paper, with the nation's largest banks while maintaining their current image archive environment. Synovus will immediately join the Viewpointe User Group - a collaborative team made of Viewpointe bank peers that are chartered to execute image sharing and exchange relationships and operational business practice decisions. Synovus and existing Viewpointe members will immediately begin prioritizing image exchange production scheduling to take advantage of image clearing benefits. Settlement will be facilitated by the National Clearing House (NCHA).

"Membership in Viewpointe will greatly expand our current electronic check clearing capability - further enhancing the efficiency and profitability of our existing check and settlement operations and infrastructure," said Bobby Moody, Synovus' Senior Manager of Payment Services. "Viewpointe and its members are providing industry leadership with strong operational infrastructure and business practices, and we are excited to become a part of and add value to such a dynamic organization."

"We are delighted that Synovus, such a well respected financial organization, strategically selected Viewpointe to expand their image exchange activities," added Jerry Chambers, Viewpointe CEO. "With significant image expertise, a growing critical mass of over 18 billion exchangeable items, and extremely sound procedures and technologies, Viewpointe and its bank members are fulfilling our charter to be the catalyst to transform the check processing industry."