Canadian Payments Association Sets New Payments Standards For Check Imaging

-Source Technologies MICR print solutions meet or exceed CPA standards-

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 11, 2006 Canadian financial institutions and their customers are receiving notification of the Canadian Payments Association's (CPA) new payment standards, making check processing more efficient by allowing checks to be cleared electronically. These specifications are a part of an industry-wide plan to move the Canadian check clearing system to an image-based process by ensuring that high-quality images can be captured for use by financial institutions and their customers. All Canadian business checks must conform to the specifications as defined by the CPA by December 31, 2006. CPA Standard 006, Part A was published in January 2005, providing a two-year transition period.

Industry Issue
Based on these changes, businesses and financial institutions should review their existing check issuance hardware and software. Older technology such as dot matrix printers may not calibrate sufficiently to comply with the new standards laid out by the CPA. In addition, many companies using standard laser printers with remanufactured MICR toner cartridges will find that shortcomings in MICR registration and signal strength may result in significant bank rejects of checks.

Solution
Source Technologies has provided MICR check printing solutions in Canada for more than ten years. The company's Canadian MICR toner cartridges meet or exceed CPA standards. Source Technologies' MICR laser printers are engineered specifically for MICR check printing and provide the most extensive check issuance security features available.

Subject Expert
MICR printer subject matter expert, Glen Fossella, vice president of marketing for Source Technologies is available for comment and interviews on this topic. Source Technologies is the market leader in MICR-based payment solutions, with well over 30,000 MICR printer installs. Source Technologies has been delivering secure, on-demand check-printing solutions for 20 years, including software implementation, integration, logistics fulfillment, installation, and customer service to hundreds of financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies worldwide.

About Source Technologies
Founded in 1986, Charlotte, N.C.-based Source Technologies is a leading provider of integrated solutions for managing financial transactions and other secure business processes. In addition to the concourse™ family of self-service kiosks, Source Technologies offers secure disbursement software solutions and magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) printing solutions and consumables for secure document applications. Customers include nine of the top ten U.S. Banks, plus hundreds of Fortune 1000 and mid-sized companies. Source Technologies has created more than $400 million in economic value for its customers in the last ten years. For more information, visit www.sourcetech.com.