Solupay and ECHO to Offer New Grocery Electronic Check Conversion Payment Solution for Merchants

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (Nasdaq:ECHO), a leading provider of electronic payment and transaction processing services, today announced that Solupay and Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) have teamed up to offer new grocery check conversion payment solutions for merchants.

“Solupay has been instrumental in the adoption of our payment solutions by supermarkets, convenience stores, and retail businesses nationwide, linking our payment options for these industries using a wider variety of POS software applications.”

Grocery store chains that use the IBM ACE POS system, such as Seattle-based Saar’s, now enjoy greater payment choices with the Solupay Processing Systems integration of electronic check conversion services provided by ECHO. Solupay’s first IBM Ace installation links Saar’s POS system to ECHO’s electronic check conversion payment gateway.

“ECHO is pleased to partner with a great organization like Solupay to provide an integrated payment solution for Saar’s electronic check processing. Our relationship with Solupay affirms our strategy of choosing technology partners who can effectively promote payment solutions into our target markets,” explained Chuck Harris, ECHO President and Chief Operating Officer. “Solupay has been instrumental in the adoption of our payment solutions by supermarkets, convenience stores, and retail businesses nationwide, linking our payment options for these industries using a wider variety of POS software applications.”

Kelley Hunter, Director of Store Support at Saar’s, explains their choice of the Solupay/ECHO team with conviction: “We chose the Solupay/ECHO team because of their abilities to integrate our IBM ACE POS system, their excellent positive and negative check database, and their ability to collect those few returned items. We estimate a six figure savings in annualized check losses, store labor, and bank fees. We would recommend their services to any merchant that wants to streamline their check acceptance procedures and reduce the costs of accepting paper checks.”

“Together Solupay and Saar’s determined their per-check expense was one of their most expensive payment types,” according to Tom Behringer, Managing Partner at Solupay. “After the installation of the ECC product, Saar’s is now accepting ECC as one of its lowest cost forms of payment, while expediting the check-out lane for better customer service. Moving from paper to electronic check acceptance was the key.”

ECHO and Solupay have partnered together for over two years and are in the process of integrating additional solutions for mutual clients.

About Solupay Processing Systems

Solupay Processing Systems (www.solupay.com) is a leading provider of integrated credit, debit, gift and electronic check conversion processing solutions. Solupay specializes in the integration, marketing and servicing of electronic check conversion (ECC) and verification, credit, debit, EBT and gift/loyalty processing solutions at the Point-of-Sale for supermarkets, liquor stores, convenience stores and various types of retailers.

About Saar’s

Headquartered in Oak Harbor, WA, Saar’s is a privately held, full-service grocery store chain with 11 locations in the State of Washington.

About Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO)

A merchant account with ECHO (www.ECHO-inc.com) provides a complete payment solution for merchants nationwide, either directly from ECHO or through sales channels that include technology partners, banks, collection agencies and other acquiring entities. Serving a broad range of businesses, ECHO’s fully integrated payment processing includes credit card processing, electronic check conversion (ECC), check guarantee, check verification, check collection and debit cards.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth above that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements included in this release include statements regarding the integration of products and solutions. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as fluctuations in demand for the Company's products and services, the introduction of new products and services, the Company's ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, technological advancements, impact of competitive products and services and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of the Company's liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other information detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.