STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 21, 2002
DALLAS -- Fujitsu Transaction Solutions and Electronic Transactions Advantage (ETAdvantage), a Fujitsu business partner, have signed an exclusive, two-year contract with Columbia Bank to provide 23 Fujitsu Series 8000 ATMs and to upgrade the bank's 54 Series 7000 ATMs with Fujitsu's Prism software.
According to a news release from Fujitsu, the ATMs, based on a Microsoft Windows 2000 platform, comply with requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) for increased security.
Becky Kettenring, ATM program vice president for Tacoma, Wash.-based Columbia Bank, said in the release the bank is upgrading its ATMs to improve customer service and to increase revenue by offering expanded services, advertising and point-of-service (POS) displays at its ATMs.
The new ATMs will replace those of another vendor. Columbia plans to streamline and simplify its operations by using one ATM vendor, according to Pat Scott, chief executive officer of Auburn, Wash.-based ETAdvantage.
The bank's back-room operations team also is using Fujitsu's Windows 2000 platform, Kettering said, because it's easier to operate, manage and maintain than ATMs that use proprietary software.
Scott said ETAdvantage recommended Fujitsu as Columbia's exclusive ATM vendor because the Series 8000 can reduce the bank's cost of ownership.
