Partnership gives Shazam added services.Shazam and SWACHA Services Corporation have entered into an agreement that will make low-cost electronic payment origination services available to community banks in the electronic payments industry. Dallas-based SWACHA Services Corp., is a for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of SWACHA, one of the largest not-for-profit regional payments associations in the country..SWACHA Services Corp., will offer the Shazam ACH origination service a secure, web-based product that will allow financial institutions to offer e-commerce payment systems to companies regardless of their size. ."A number of community banks and credit unions have not been able to offer an electronic payments platform to their retail clients because of the cost of many of these systems," said Tim Quisenberry, president, SWACHA Services Corp. "We are pleased to offer a quality electronic payment service that is affordable and doesn't require a lot of resources to install and maintain. Going forward, you will see us continue to offer electronic payment services like this to help meet the needs of small- and mid-sized financial institutions.".The Shazam ACH origination service will allow community banks to offer services such as: direct deposit, direct payment, and financial electronic data interchange transactions, such as state and federal tax payments, child support, and others.."For more than thirty years, Shazam has focused on providing community financial institutions of all sizes access to quality, cost-effective electronic payment options," stated Dan Kramer, Shazam senior vice president of marketing and merchant services. "We are proud to partner with SWACHA and look forward to helping SWACHA members expand the services they offer their retail clients." .Fed pushes back target date for format change.The Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. announced they have moved a key implementation date back nearly a year..Message format changes to accommodate payments containing business remittance information are now scheduled for implementation on Nov. 19, 2011. Original plans were to implement this message format during the fourth quarter of 2010. Despite the postponement, the Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House said they remain firmly committed to ensuring that this initiative is implemented next year..Since the announcement in 2008 of plans to implement enhanced message formats, the Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House have sought feedback from financial institutions, corporations and other industry stakeholders on the impact of the changes. As part of those discussions, industry participants recently made a request to delay the implementation date of the new message format to allow more time to ensure industry preparedness and to refine market practices related to handling the new message format for cross-border payments. In addition, the schedule change will allow the Federal Reserve Banks to accommodate the financial institutions' request for a minor change to the Fedwire message format validation rules to increase compatibility with corporate accounting systems..The modification to U.S. dollar wire transfer message formats to permit extended character business remittance information is part of a broader effort by the Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House to modernize and enhance the funds transfer system. .Iowa program reaches 'come home' goal."Mission accomplished," proclaimed Brad Davis, president and CEO of Hampton State Bank, Hampton, Iowa. He was referring to the bank's Come Home to Franklin County program, which set out to lend $1 million to families that agreed to move back to Franklin County in north-central Iowa. Over a four and a half year period, the bank has lent $1,100,233 to 14 households. Davis announced the program will be extended to lend another one million dollars..The program offered below-market-rate loans and other financial benefits to graduates of high schools in Franklin County.."We are very pleased to know that this program impacts not only the lives of the individuals who are taking advantage of this program, but that Come Home to Franklin County is benefiting Franklin County as a whole," Davis said. .FWI awards final grants.When Financial Women International closed its books on Dec. 31, 2009 after 88 years of service, it dispersed its remaining funds to three organizations:.• Financial Women in Texas, which promotes involvement in the education and training of women in financial services;.• Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota, which provides workforce development services; and.• The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which offers courses to help mid- and upper-level managers in the financial services industry.."We're pleased to support organizations that honor the spirit of Financial Women International," said FWI President Melissa Curzon, Mission Viejo, Calif. "Through their admirable efforts, more women will see the potential in themselves and in each other." .Bankers promote financial literacy.Teach Children to Save day, the annual event sponsored by the American Bankers Association to promote financial literacy, was April 26. Among the participants was ABA Chairman Arthur Johnson, who hosted an event at his bank, United Bank of Michigan, Grand Rapids. Earlier in April, Michelle Greene, Treasury deputy assistant secretary for financial education and financial access, kicked off the Teach Children to Save program in Washington, D.C., with personal finance lessons to area students..The Teach Children to Save program is a national campaign that organizes banker volunteers to educate young people about the importance of developing a lifelong savings habit. Since 1997, the campaign has reached 3.4 million young people with the help of some 80,000 banker volunteers. .Wells Fargo honored for volunteerism.United Way recently recognized Wells Fargo with its Summit Award for exceptional volunteerism. In addition to giving $202 million in grants to nonprofits, more than 32,000 Wells Fargo employees volunteered 1.23 million hours in 2009. Volunteer activities included:.• Delivering more than 2,500 financial literacy classes teaching 38,000 participants about savings..• Providing free tax preparation and assistance to low-income families at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites..• Training more than 13,000 students in Teach Children to Save outreach..• Reading to children in more than 4,000 classrooms, as well as providing more than 41,000 books..• Serving on more than 10,000 nonprofit boards across the country..Wells Fargo also provides numerous volunteer awards and incentives including 16 hours of paid volunteer time annually, "Cash for Your Cause" foundation grants, outstanding volunteer of the year awards, volunteer service awards with grants to nonprofits, a Dream Builder award for the top affordable housing volunteer, and a volunteer leave program that provides fully paid leaves up to four months for Wells Fargo employees to help nonprofits with significant projects. In 2009, twenty-one employees received paid volunteer leave totaling more than 40 months. Projects ranged from running a camp for children with cancer to creating bilingual curriculum at a local elementary school to working with nonprofits in India on microfinance.."To be honored with the United Way Spirit of America Award in community volunteerism reflects the spirit of our culture and our vision and values," said Jon R. Campbell, executive vice president, social responsibility group at Wells Fargo. .Bankers' Bank offers new EFT service.Bankers' Bank of Madison, Wis., has teamed up with First Data Corporation STAR Network to provide electronic funds transfer network services to Bankers' Bank customers. Bankers' Bank serves nearly 700 financial institutions throughout the Midwest. Under the five-year agreement, Bankers' Bank will offer its financial institutions complete access to ATM and debit card network services through the STAR Network, with more than two million retail and ATM locations.."The STAR Network gives financial institutions access to innovative technology and committed support for the growth of their business. As we continue to see growth in debit transactions, we are dedicated to helping Bankers' Bank and its client banks offer options that best serve their customers' needs," said Kevin Barry, general manager, STAR Network.."The reach of the network throughout our market, as well as across the United States, gives our community bank partners the opportunity to provide exceptional service to their consumer and business clients," said Barb Gross, first vice president — BankCards, Bankers' Bank. .Extras….• Farmers State Bank, Marion, Iowa, has acquired ABC Mortgage, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa..• KleinBank conducted a ribbon cutting celebration April 28 to launch its new branch in Plymouth, Minn. KleinBank purchased Community Bank Plymouth and converted it into a branch. KleinBank has 22 other offices across the Twin Cities area..• River Valley Bank conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony March 18 to open its new office in Weston, Wis. On March 20, the bank hosted more than 500 people who participated in a grand opening celebration featuring free ice cream, piggy banks for kids, and prizes.
