PR - EPayments Acquires Check Collection and Recovery Inc.

Denver-based ePayments Corp., an electronic payments processing and support services company, yesterday announced the acquisition of Check Collection and Recovery Inc. (CCR) of St. Simons Island, Ga.

The acquisition adds a substantial number of check recovery and credit card processing clients to ePayments Corp.’s electronic check collection (RCK) business. ePayments Corp. CEO Paul Lufkin said CCR represents another strategic acquisition due to its strong regional focus and solid client base in the retail, government and utility collections verticals.

"CCR has a strong management team and talented staff dedicated to the check collection and the secondary collection recovery business," said Lufkin. "We’ll bring their team to the next level with our HyperCustomer service strategies and be able to offer other payments solutions to CCR’s client base."

Under terms of the acquisition, CCR will maintain its offices in the St. Simons Island area, and staffing levels are expected to increase. Furthermore, Lufkin said that by keeping the CCR office fully staffed and functional, it has the capacity to be able to handle the needs for several upcoming acquisitions as well as serve as a backup to ePayments’ Colorado call center operations to ensure continuous, reliable customer service.

"This essentially becomes our eastern regional powerhouse, strengthening our position in the RCK industry, allowing us to better service our customers," said Lufkin.

A privately held company founded in 2001, CCR delivers payment processing services throughout the United Sates through community banks and trade associations as well as direct sales to merchants. CCR company principals will continue to work with ePayments in developing new business opportunities and expanding electronic payments opportunities in the market.

ePayments specializes in working with companies, schools, non-profits and government organizations of all sizes who handle payments in the form of check and credit card transactions. Since U.S. banking system rules were changed to allow businesses to use the Automated Clearing House network (ACH) and Check 21 methodologies to electronically process checks from customers, a new industry of providers has emerged to support businesses with electronic check conversion, electronic NSF collection and related compliance services.