LOCKHEED MARTIN IMS & BOTTOMLINE TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDING EMPLOYERS WITH ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR GARNISHING PAYCHECKS OF PARENTS OWING CHILD SUPPORT
Software already being used in Colorado, will be made available in New York, Arkansas, Hawaii & LA County
PORTSMOUTH, NH (July 9, 1996) -- Lockheed Martin IMS has joined with Portsmouth, NH-based Bottomline Technologies, Inc. to introduce a new system that electronically transfers the garnished wages of parents owing child support from employers to state or local agencies responsible for distributing the money to custodial parents.
Lockheed Martin IMS has already added this new software to the payment processing services it provides the Colorado Department of Human Services' Family Support Registry, offering Colorado companies an efficient way of digitally transferring employees' child support payments directly from employers' payrolls to the state. In the next few months, Lockheed Martin IMS will also add the software to the services it provides its other public-sector child support customers, including the states of New York, Arkansas and Hawaii, and Los Angeles County.
The electronic garnishment system combines Lockheed Martin IMS' child support payment processing services and systems with Bottomline's new electronic payment interchange and conversion (EPIc) software. Over the next year, Lockheed Martin IMS and Bottomline will make the software available to all states with an interest in electronic processing of child support payments.
The system allows employers to make payments electronically instead of issuing checks, which reduces the processing costs of state and local governments responsible for child support enforcement. The software electronically transfers the child support payment from the company's payroll, to its bank, to the child support agency bank and then to the child support agency. In many cases, a child support payment can be made by the employer and directly deposited to the custodial parent's personal bank account in less than 72 hours.
"By developing creative partnerships with the business community, child support enforcement agencies can get child support payments to needy families significantly faster," said Holli Ploog, senior vice president and managing director of Children and Family Services for Lockheed Martin IMS. "Electronic payment also benefits employers by helping them reduce paperwork, while saving time and money."
"By incorporating electronic commerce into the collection effort, we are reducing processing costs and increasing the security of our payment process," said Craig Goellner, director of Colorado's Family Support Registry. "Instead of spending time and money writing and mailing checks, we can tell families that the money will be deposited directly in a day or two without worrying about fraud or theft."
"Bottomline Technologies is proud to work with Lockheed Martin IMS to provide an electronic solution to such a pressing social issue as child support payment," said Dan McGurl, Bottomline's founder and president. "We anticipate that the new system, which meets the requirements of the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, will be adopted by many other states as well."
The electronic garnishment system is the latest in the long line of electronic processing technologies in which Lockheed Martin IMS is investing. Lockheed Martin IMS is a leader in electronic benefits transfer (EBT) services, the paperless system for distributing government benefits such as Food Stamps and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). In Partnership with Citibank, IMS will be providing EBT services to more than seven million recipients of public benefits in 25 states nationwide, including Colorado and five other states that comprise the Western States EBT Alliance.
Headquartered in Teaneck, NJ, IMS is a leading provider of data processing and systems integration services to 260 clients in state, municipal and federal governments, as well as the private sector. The company has more than 45 offices in the United States and Europe -- including Denver, CO -- and operates six lines of business: Children and Family Services, Transportation Systems and Services, Municipal Services, Integrated Solutions, Criminal Justice Services and Communications Industry Services. IMS is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, the world leader in high technology and systems engineering.
Portsmouth, NH-based Bottomline Technologies, Inc., a seven-year old, privately-held company, provides software and services for improving payment technology across the enterprise. BT's total payment platform features the LaserCheck™ family of check writing software; Positive PayLink™ anti-check fraud solution; and EPIc electronic payment software for banks and corporations. Bottomline Technologies, the payment technology company, markets worldwide and counts Marathon Oil, Bank of New York, Manpower and Wells Fargo among their customer base of more than 2,000 organizations. Bottomline Technologies, Inc. was ranked #52 on Inc. Magazine's 1995 list of America's fastest growing privately-held companies.
Contact:
Ellen Backus
Bottomline Technologies PR
978-740-0780
PR@bottomline.com
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