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Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why should I choose ACCEL/Exchange as my institution’s ATM/POS network?
A. ACCEL/Exchange offers the combination of access, performance
and value that members and participants require. In addition, Members can
benefit from a unique governance structure and participation in the Education
Exchange College Grant Program, a way for financial institutions to give back
to their communities at no cost to them.
Q. What is unique about the Network’s governance structure?
A. ACCEL/Exchange Advisory Council sets the strategic and
tactical goals for the Network and is also the arbiter on pricing, rules and
variance decisions. The Council is comprised of representatives from financial
institutions that represent a cross-section of ACCEL/Exchange Network membership
in addition to one Fiserv executive. This distributed governance approach
combines the network ownership, scale and efficiency of Fiserv with the
industry insight and knowledge of executives from our Member financial
institutions. The Network believes its governance model provides Members and
their cardholders with membership in a Network that is both responsive to their
needs and a marketplace leader.
Q. How can my institution benefit from participation in the Education Exchange College Grant Program?
A. The Education Exchange College Grant Program presents annual awards
of $50,000 in grants to deserving high school graduating seniors. ACCEL/Exchange
administers this program at no cost to member financial institutions and
participation in the program allows financial institutions to provide a
significant benefit to their cardholders and invest in the communities they
serve. Recipients are selected according to scholastic achievement,
volunteerism and extracurricular activities, character and leadership, as well
as essay responses and financial needs.
Q. What kind of geographical coverage does the Network offer?
A. ACCEL/Exchange is available in all 50 states and Canada, an
instantly recognized brand with a significant track record of success. Millions
of cardholders being serviced by 3,500 Member financial institutions can
conduct transactions at 180,000 ATM locations. ACCEL/Exchange is also
accepted at 650,000 POS locations at the nation’s leading merchants, ensuring
cardholders can use their cards when and where they choose.
Q. What kind of performance record does the Network have?
A. ACCEL/Exchange consistently delivers 100% switch performance
and greater than 99% terminal availability and transaction authorization rates.
Q. What kind of value does the Network offer?
A. The Network offers exceptional access and performance at a distinct
and quantifiable value. With its clear, competitive pricing across the board,
including membership, participation and interchange fees, ACCEL/Exchange
can minimize your overall network investment and participation costs and
maximize your revenue. The need to participate in several EFT networks with
convoluted and, in some cases, cost-prohibitive fee schedules is reduced.
Q. Who is eligible to become a member of the Network?
A. ACCEL/Exchange Members must be Insured Depository Financial
Institutions (IDFIs) or wholly owned subsidiaries of IDFIs located in the
United States and Canada. Although ACCEL/Exchange membership is limited
to IDFIs, non-IDFI organizations are able to participate in the Network.
Non-IDFIs gain access to the Network through sponsorship by an existing Network
Member, i.e. IDFI.
Q. Who owns the Network?
A. ACCEL/Exchange is owned and operated by Fiserv EFT, a renowned
innovator and leader in the EFT marketplace and a division of Fiserv, Inc.
(Nasdaq:FISV), a Fortune 500 company that provides information management
systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading
services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process
outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than
18,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing
solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the
largest provider of information technology services to the financial services
industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys.
Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4.5 billion in
total revenue for 2006. For more information, please visit
www.fiserv.com.
Q. How long has the Network been in existence?
A. Founded in 1974 in the Pacific Northwest, The Exchange Network was
the world’s first 24-hour ATM shared network, as well as the first to complete
both a coast-to-coast ATM transaction and an international ATM transaction. The
ACCEL Network was founded in 1985 as the Northwest’s regional POS Network. The
ACCEL and Exchange Networks merged in 1991 to provide member organizations with
superior ATM and POS capabilities through a single network membership.
Q. Does the Network offer "surcharge-free" ATM transactions?
A. Yes. ACCEL/Exchange offers No SUR!®, an optional program that
provides surcharge-free ATM locations for participating terminal owners and
card issuers. Participants agree not to surcharge one another's cardholders at
their respective ATM locations, while reserving the right to impose surcharges
on cardholder transactions of No SUR! non-participants. No SUR! ATM locations
can be viewed using the ATM Locator of this web
site.
As an ACCEL/Exchange Member, if your institution chooses to join
Allpoint through ACCEL/Exchange, you can greatly expand your
institution’s surcharge-free access to include over 32,000 ATMs in leading
national and regional merchant locations nationwide. This is made possible
through our partnership with Allpoint, America’s largest surcharge-free ATM
network. An ATM Locator can be accessed at
www.AllpointNetwork.com
Q. Does the Network allow shared deposits between its Members?
A. Yes. ACCEL/Exchange offers DEPOSIT HERE!®, an optional Deposit
Sharing program that provides deposit-accepting ATM locations for participating
terminal owners and card issuers. Terminal owners agree to accept deposits at
their ATMs by participating institutions' cardholders. DEPOSIT HERE! ATM
locations can be viewed using the ATM Locator of this web site.
Q. Does the Network offer any fraud protection?
A. Yes. ACCEL/Exchange administers the CardAlertTM Fraud
Manager service, a counterfeit card fraud detection and management service for ACCEL/Exchange
Members’ transaction activity. CardAlert is geared towards identifying
counterfeit card inventories that can affect multiple cardholders and financial
institutions. Unlike neural networks that examine individual cardholder offline
debit/credit card transaction patterns, CardAlert focuses on multiple-card,
ATM/debit card counterfeit fraud. Based on a predictive methodology aimed at
detecting and controlling large-scale counterfeit card fraud by focusing on
point-of-compromise (POC) analysis, it incorporates multiple card and multiple
institution POC data to detect payment card fraud and notify card issuers so
that they can take proactive measures to obstruct or monitor use of potentially
compromised cards.
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