ICMH
CM Telecommunications Launches 1st Financial Payroll Card Program
Monday May 3, 9:30 am ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2004--ICM Telecommunications, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ICMH - News), a rapidly growing provider of prepaid pin-based products activated at the Point of Sale (POS), announced today that it has launched a 1st Financial Payroll Card Program that is being offered through its prepaid debit platform. The company said experience shows it will be of substantial benefit to both employers and their employees.
"By utilizing this payroll solution program," said ICM Telecommunications CEO Doug Hamby, "employers can realize savings in time, money and resources. Working with our strategic partners, 1st Financial Solutions Inc. and Ohio-based Sutton Bank, employers can open a payroll account and fund that account as they normally would, with the payroll card being reloaded with the value of the employee's wages, allowing the cardholder to use the card at ATM or POS terminals."
In this scenario, the company achieves major advantages, Hamby observed. Costs and time for payroll distribution are decreased. Direct deposit participation is maximized, as well as simplification in reconciling bank accounts. At minimal cost, more benefits are offered to unbanked employees, as the program also eliminates stop payments on lost checks as well as paper processing of checks, and check fraud is reduced. Additional employer benefits, Hamby noted, include easy integration of the program with the existing payroll, higher employee loyalty and retention, and elimination of problems associated with employees in multiple geographic locations.
There are equally compelling advantages for employees, the CEO said, including funds immediately available on payday, the elimination of check cashing fees and long lines to cash checks. Greater safety is also offered since the employee does not need to carry large sums of money, and has the security of a PIN-protected card. Employees can use the card to make purchases, eliminating the need for money orders or cashier's checks, or carrying around a large amount of cash. The cardholder also can make withdrawals for cash at ATM machines.
"Of course," Hamby explained, "the truly biggest value is that we are dealing here with federally insured funds, everyone is approved, and free account information is always accessible online or through voice recognition systems. Money can be sent worldwide in seconds. Moreover, during the summer the card's capability will be further enhanced, so that people will actually be able to pay their bills directly with their payroll cards in order to not only stay current, but also improve their credit ratings."
ICM Telecommunications Inc. is the exclusive distributor of debit instruments for 1st Financial Solutions Inc., which is in partnership with Sutton Bank. That bank's status as a premier card issuing financial institution permits our customers all the benefits of other ATM debit cards.
A MasterCard logo can be added to the Payroll Card on request by the employer, to allow usage anywhere MasterCard is accepted worldwide. In fact, the estimated total number of financial institutions, ATM locations, and virtually all retail establishments, gives card users several hundred thousand places where their cards will be immediately acceptable and honored.
The company believes that, following ramp up in the current quarter, incremental revenues from this program alone will approximate $200,000 in its 2004 third quarter.
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. We caution the reader that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Contact:
ICM Telecommunications, Inc.
Doug Hamby, 916-449-9597
Source: ICM Telecommunications, Inc. |
