COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Alliance One, the national selective-surcharge ATM group managed by Corporate One Federal Credit Union, has reached an agreement with Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., to provide surcharge-free ATM access to residents of Indiana and Illinois who receive state-issued benefits and payments such as child support and unemployment insurance benefits via debit cards.
ACS, a provider of business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing solutions to commercial and government clients, contracts with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Illinois State Disbursement Unit to disburse benefits and payments.
Benefit and payment recipients initially receive a nationally branded debit card with the amount of their child support payment or unemployment benefit loaded onto the card. Ongoing benefits and payment deposits are electronically added to the debit card accounts.
Under the recently announced agreement, cards will be accepted at any of the more than 600 Alliance One ATMs throughout Indiana and nearly 250 terminals in Illinois. In Indiana, almost 250,000 individuals who received unemployment benefits in 2005 will now have the option to receive their payments by withdrawing cash from Alliance One ATMs.
"We feel like this a great way for credit unions to serve the underserved," said Alliance One spokesperson Paul Hixon. "Increased traffic to these ATMs raises awareness of credit unions and generates income for our participants. Even though credit unions are waiving the foreign ATM fees on these ATM transactions, each withdrawal of funds will generate interchange income for the credit union--income that otherwise may not exist."
Alliance One has more than 130 and 170 credit unions as participants in Indiana and Illinois, respectively. The group plans to promote credit union membership to benefits recipients through marketing materials and ACS' existing Web portals for recipients.
