The New JPMorgan is Targeting CUs for Item Processing; Inks First Deal With Corporate Central CU

HALES CORNER, Wis. - JPMorgan Chase Company's recently completed merger with Bank One has turned the surviving JPMorgan Chase into one of the largest item processors in the country processing some 20 million items a day. The mega bank said it's interested in getting its item processing services into the hands of more credit unions. Its first deal is with Corporate Central Credit Union, Hales Corner, Wis., which will be offering its members the item processing option from JPMorgan Treasury Services. The deal is interesting because Corporate Central already offers its members item processing services through Fiserv. "Yes we have an arrangement and partnership with Fiserv. We've now augmented that with JPMorgan," said Chris Felton, VP of Strategic Alliances for Corporate Central. "We just felt as though we wanted another option or alternative with regard to Check 21. We were impressed with JPMorgans' data warehouse they were building with respect to image archiving," said Felton. "In Corporate Central's case we have jointly developed an in-clearing solution that will now be offered across the new JPMorgan franchise. This is the first deal I suspect of many taking us into the in-clearing business," said Carl Shishmanian, senior product executive, deposit services for JPMorgan. Shismarian said credit unions will start hearing a lot more about JPMorgan if they're thinking about positioning themselves for imaging and doing business in the post-Check 21 world. "We have deployed all day two functions as image-enabled. By the beginning of fourth quarter, day one will be image enabled. Most major sites are image enabled," said Shismarian. He noted JPMorgan is also prepared for IRD printing, remote branch capture and other services necessary for image exchange. When JPMorgan and Bank One merged, Bank One had been operating 13 regional item processing sites. JPMorgan was a significantly smaller player with just two sites in New York and three in Texas. Shismarian said JPMorgan believes item processing is still one of the core relationships a bank can have with its clients. Of course it can lead to more correspondent bank service usage, where JPMorgan is a major player. As for the Corporate Central CU deal, Wisconsin CUs will have the option to use either Fiserv or JPMorgan. The corporate's agreement with JPMorgan does not dictate they migrate off of Fiserv, which is also one of the largest item processors and has launched a host of Check21-ready products. The $1.5 billion Corporate Central processes some four million items a month on behalf of its 300-plus member credit unions. -pgentile@cutimes.com