DENVER (OCT. 23, 2007) – TeleCheck Services, Inc., a leading check acceptance company and subsidiary of First Data Corp., today announced it has reached an agreement to offer TeleCheck Electronic Check Acceptance® (ECA®) Warranty service at Meijer Supercenters in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
This agreement facilitates the rollout of ECA chain wide, and allows Meijer to cost-effectively authorize and process check transactions electronically at the point of sale. Meijer customers will benefit from increased security and convenience as they present checks for payment.
"It's an honor to significantly expand our relationship with Meijer. Meijer has built an outstanding reputation throughout the Midwest as a value-driven, customer-oriented merchant and the imageless ECA solution they have chosen to deploy requires little training for cashiers and is simple for their customers to use," said TeleCheck president Brian Mooney. "Meijer's decision to implement Electronic Check Acceptance allows the company to more effectively meet the needs of its customers who choose to pay by check and will significantly reduce the company's risk for check fraud."
Expanding consumer choice and convenience at the point of sale was a key factor for Meijer in adding the ECA service. "Checks continue to be a preferred form of payment for many of our customers," said Janet Emerson, executive vice president of operations for Meijer. "Our relationship with TeleCheck will allow us to provide an efficient and cost-effective way to process checks, while still providing Meijer customers with the high level of service they expect."
With a guarantee volume of $25 billion and total electronic check volume of $37 billion, TeleCheck provides a broad suite of electronic and paper check processing services. Today, over 40 percent of the more than 500 million transactions processed by TeleCheck are ECA transactions processed at the point of purchase. Approximately 149,000 merchant locations process with ECA through TeleCheck. Steady growth of electronic check services for merchants of all sizes has become a standard for efficient check acceptance.
About First Data
First Data Corp. is a leading provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses worldwide. With operations in 38 countries, First Data serves over 5 million merchant locations, 1,900 card issuers and their customers. It powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. The company's portfolio of services and solutions includes merchant transaction processing services; credit, debit, private-label, gift, payroll and other prepaid card offerings; fraud protection and authentication solutions; receivables management solutions; electronic check acceptance services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce and mobile payment solutions. The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance at 2 million ATM and retail locations. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.
About Meijer
Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 181 supercenters throughout Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. As the inventor of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Additional information on Meijer can be found at www.meijer.com.
Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Grice
First Data Corp.
(303) 967-8526
elizabeth.grice@firstdata.com
Frank Guglielmi
Meijer
(734) 844-2781
frank.guglielmi@meijer.com
