Date: 10/21/02

When First Citizens BancShares wanted to automatically upload EJ data from NCR ATMs in their expanded network, Paragon's AUF met the challenge.

First Citizens BancShares(Nasdaq: FCNCA), a $12 billion financial holding company based in Raleigh, N.C. has traversed the Mississippi-and Paragon's Automatic Upload Facility (AUF) was able to help them circumvent some potential growing pains. Recently, IronStone Bank (a division of First Citizens subsidiary, Atlantic States Bank) expanded into Texas, opening offices in Austin. IronStone is scheduled to open a Scottsdale, Arizona office later this year, and soon First Citizens BancShares network will officially reach coast-to-coast when IronStone opens an office in the La Jolla community of San Diego, CA.

"We are moving into cities that represent a unique opportunity for expansion, growth, and profits, and are deploying ATMs to assist in serving these markets," says Dalton Louque, VP and manager of alternative delivery systems for First Citizens. " Expanding our base of ATMs in these new markets appealed to us, but balancing these remote ATMs presented a challenge."

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First Citizens, already a Paragon Application Systems' customer, looked to Paragon for a solution. Says Peter Sturgess, Paragon VP, "First Citizens already used AUF with their Diebold ATMs. Now they wanted to add support for NCR ATMs as well. We are always pleased when existing customers express their confidence and satisfaction by returning to us for new solutions. First Citizens had an aggressive schedule, but AUF's architecture enabled us to quickly add the additional device support that First Citizens needed."

Louque continues, "Paragon was able to assist us by installing AUF software for the NCR platform in our data center, enabling our bank to remotely balance the NCR ATMs deployed west of the Mississippi. Paragon was on site for the entire installation process and worked diligently to install and test the application on a very tight schedule. The entire installation took about a week, including testing."

And does operation of the product go as well as the installation did? Louque confirms that it does, saying, "AUF saves us time and money. We don't need people to retrieve files from remote ATMs for balancing. Electronic journal files are uploaded to our host system automatically or on command, where they can be reviewed by the appropriate staff for accuracy, as well as used in researching problem transactions."

First Citizens staff also required minimal training to begin enjoying the benefits of AUF. Louque explains, "Our associates find AUF very easy to use. Our operations associates were able to use the NCR version of AUF within an hour."

Adds Louque, "I have been very pleased with the level of support given to us by Paragon. They have never failed to deliver top quality products on time for us. The support staff, developers, and technicians are always extremely professional and strive to deliver superior customer service."

Sturgess points out, "Paragon is completely committed to the production and installation of first-class products. Our commitment goes beyond the sale, though. Not only do we provide responsive customer support, we also try to stay close to our customers and learn their day-to-day business needs. Establishing a relationship in which our clients feel we are approachable and are partners in expanding their businesses isn't just good customer relations - it's a solid basis for developing leading edge products that address real business needs."

If your institution can benefit from the ability to remotely retrieve EJ data, including capabilities for archiving that data and browsing it online, contact Kathryn Cameron at (919) 567-9890 or info@parappsys.com

More about First Citizens

First Citizens BancShares (Nasdaq: FCNCA) is a $12 billion financial holding company based in Raleigh, N.C.

Two of BancShares' major subsidiaries are First Citizens Bank with 342 branches in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; and Atlantic States Bank with 41 branches in Georgia and Florida. Atlantic States' western division, IronStone Bank, recently opened its first branch in Texas and has plans for branches in Arizona and California. For more information, visit the First Citizens Web site at www.firstcitizens.com.