News

FTI takes NetBank name, acquires ATMs from Calif. ISO

January 20, 2004

ATLANTA - Financial Technologies, Inc. (FTI), which was purchased by NetBank, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTBK) in October, has changed its name to NetBank Payment Systems, Inc.

In a sign that acquisitions are part of the plan for the former FTI, the company has reached a definitive agreement to acquire select assets of Southern California-based Electronic Cash Systems Inc. (ECS). Pending regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close during the first quarter.

"Changing the (FTI) name to capitalize on NetBank's brand equity was a logical next step," said Douglas Freeman, NetBank chairman and chief executive, in a news release. 'It strengthens our market presence as we continue to build the merchant processing and point-of-sale capabilities of our transaction processing business.'

Tommy Glenn, president of NetBank Payment Systems, said the deal with ECS will add more than 1,000 ATMs to the company's network. With the addition of the ECS assets, NetBank Payment Systems will have more than 5,000 ATMs deployed across the country processing more than 1.5 million transactions per month.

Fadi Cheikha, president of ECS, will join NetBank Payment Systems as vice president of national sales distribution and will oversee the company's distributor and POS program, according to the release.