Citizens Trust Puts Trust In Bisys

A new check processing system installed by Citizens Trust Bank, the largest African-American owned bank in the Southeast, boasts the last word in image technology.

Developed by Bisys Document Solutions, the system will enable $300 million Citizens Trust to eliminate manual check processing methods and the error-prone, labor-intensive task of reviewing and extracting each item individually.

Citizens Trust expects the new Bisys system to dramatically reduce paperwork and decrease the time it takes to research customer information from several days to a few minutes. The faster response time, accompanied by higher image quality and increased processing efficiencies, will reduce the potential for fraudulent transactions and positively impact both customer service and bank- office staffing requirements.

In addition to expanding Citizens Trust's in-house capabilities, the system will enable customers to review monthly statements flexibly. The bank plans to offer customers the option of receiving monthly statements online, via e-mail, CD-ROM or on paper.

In banking, high-quality customer service and innovative products are prerequisites, according to James E. Young, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Citizens Trust Bank. "As Citizens Trust Bank continues to grow and expand into new markets, we realize that service is an important ingredient in our formula for success."

The new system is expected to be cheaper than outsourcing, and provide greater benefits to customers. Customer service representatives will be able to verify signatures, research statements and view cleared checks on the spot, and will no longer need to call to request imaging related research from another branch or office.

"This capability will have a tremendous impact on customer service and I think our customers will appreciate that," according to Iris Goodly, vice president and operations manager.

The new system will help keep Citizens Trust at the forefront of the banking industry, noted R. Kenneth Gooch, vice president of information systems. "As our business continues to diversify and expand, we remain focused on providing customers with more extensive products and services; our partnership with Bisys is right in line with that philosophy."

Citizens Trust's planned acquisition of $108 million Citizens Federal Savings Bank, Birmingham, Ala., provides further opportunities to leverage its investment in imaging technologies, as well as pass along a growing number of image-enabled capabilities to customers.

"With Citizens Trust showcasing our products and services in Birmingham as well as Atlanta," noted Sharon Howard, vice president of marketing at Bisys Document Solution, "we are quite confident in our ability to provide a comprehensive level of functionality and service."