PLANAD, one of the largest IT distributors for financial institutions in Angola, will begin implementing NCR Check Bureau solution for its customers. In MEA, check security remains a highly sensitive process, and NCR Check Bureau allows financial institutions to produce checks with security features in house, improving the delivery time to customers from two to three weeks to 24-48 hours.

NCR Check Bureau is available to partners and financial institutions in the MEA region, including Bangladesh, Malawi, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Nepal and Mozambique. The NCR solution uses laser technology for personalisation and impact printing for the MICR encoding on the security documents. The solution is controlled by specialized software with integral barcode verification for the MICR encoding.

"NCR's hardware and software solution will help our financial institution customers deliver a more efficient and secure check service to consumers," said Marques Gomes, CEO, PLANAD, Angola. "By performing this activity in house, we can localize check production and improve delivery time, all with the same level of security of producing the checks through distributors."

NCR Check Bureau addresses new specifications and security standards for the checks in these markets, including OCR (Optical Character Recognition), ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition), and PCS (Print Contrast Signal), among others.

"Getting new checkbooks faster is just one of the ways that NCR is making consumers' everyday lives easier in MEA," said Eddie Noel, senior vice president and general manager, NCR Interactive Printer Solutions. "PLANAD is taking an innovative approach to providing a value-added service to its financial customers in the region, including improved speed and security."