AmStar Systems' eca$hier to run North Communications' Aurora online banking software.
Los Angeles, January 31, 2001 - North Communications, Inc. and AmStar Systems, Inc. have announced an alliance today that will bring increased functionality to the standard ATM and financial kiosk.
The two companies have developed a solution that integrates North's Aurora online banking software and AmStar's Multi-function Financial Center, eca$hier. The resulting financial kiosk will run both the Aurora and eca$hier applications seamlessly. End-users can perform standard and advanced banking transactions like account management, bill payment and account initiation via the Aurora application. Standard ATM functions and value-add services are provided through the eca$hier. By accepting credit, debit or cash, eca$hier makes transactions such as the purchase of money orders, currency transfers, and payroll services possible for the banked and un-banked alike.
"The partnership between North and AmStar allows financial institutions to deliver a full suite of services to their customers while concurrently providing value-add transactions to the foreign customer and the un-banked," said Don Cantal, director of strategic alliances for North.
"We're very excited by the possibilities this partnership presents," said David Lyons, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing for North. "This is a whole new concept for banking away from the traditional financial institution. It will improve the way banks and credit unions service their clients and will increase profitability while reducing transaction costs to the user."
The Aurora/eca$hier multi-function kiosk provides users with 24 x 7 banking and value-added services. The solution connects with AmStar's ATM network, targeted bank and credit union networks, value-added service networks, and both North's and AmStar's administration networks. The technologies also employ a number of security measures to make transactions as safe and robust as possible. Aurora uses IBM's WebSphere application server to provide the highest level of security, while optimizing performance and load balancing. The Terminal Business Hour safe helps to eliminate shortages and theft by dispensing goods only after payment is collected.
"What we find most exiting about this partnership is the ability for two companies with separate, but equally progressive, technologies to realize the value in coming together for a common purpose." said Dick Adams, Executive Vice President of AmStar Systems. "What's more, the AmStar/Aurora solution will be branded to individual banks and credit unions further expanding the versatility & impact of every deployment."
About North Communications Since 1987, North Communications has been designing secure transactional public access kiosk applications for financial and government institutions across four continents. Every day, around the world, people use North Communications software to access information, conduct financial transactions, and complete online forms. About AmStar Systems AmStar is the manufacturer of the eca$hier Multi-function Financial Center. The eca$hier is the only network certified Multi-function Financial Center with the capability to support a wide variety of Enhanced Financial Services such as, standard ATM services, money orders, electronic cash transfers, employee payroll services, utility payments plus many more services. Consumers may elect to pay for the goods and services dispensed at the eca$hier with any debit card, credit card, stored value cards or CASH. The eca$hier supports "on-us" transactions for a Credit Union account holder, "foreign transactions" for the non-Credit union account holder, and now for the first time the un-banked or "CASH ONLY" customer. (Presently ATMs only provide service to debit/credit cardholders which represent approximately 65% of the adults in U.S.
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