North Carolina Bank Partners with Fiserv to Target Hispanic Market

North Carolina Bank Partners with Fiserv to Target Hispanic Market

Aggressive growth plan calls for Hispanic banking expertise, scalability and advanced features
BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Information Technology, Inc. (ITI), a business unit of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), a leading provider of information management systems and services, has partnered with Nuestro Banco, a de novo financial institution with a business plan dedicated to serving the Hispanic consumer and small business segments. The bank opened in September 2007, and has joined forces with Fiserv ITI to deploy the powerful Premier® core system as they pursue the expanding market from their headquarters in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.

“The Hispanic population is growing at 20 percent per year in North Carolina,” explained David Flores, president and chief executive officer of Nuestro Banco, “and the group’s purchasing power is actually growing faster than the population growth rate. The Census Bureau estimates that by 2050, one fourth of the nation’s population will be of Hispanic origin, yet today, the Latino populace as a whole is severely underbanked,” said Flores. “The key to capturing their business will be to design new ways to bank – ways that accommodate the Hispanic culture, habits and way of thinking. We understand these factors, and so does Fiserv.”

The bank looked at several core providers over a three-month period before deciding on ITI’s Premier® and outsourced processing services through the Fiserv ITI data center in Atlanta. Usability and an array of features were pivotal to Nuestro Banco’s choice, but they said that even more important than the software products were the professionals behind them.

“We wanted a software partner who not only understood the dynamics of the Hispanic banking market as it stands today, but one who could see the long-term direction the financial industry will take in response to its expansion. We wanted to partner with a company who can take us to the forefront, and Fiserv ITI was the only one who stood up and said, ‘We can do that,’” said Flores.

Available for either outsourced or in-house account processing, the Premier software suite offers highly scalable products for virtually every function, including core accounting, branch and Internet banking, business intelligence, risk and compliance, remote capture and transaction management, enterprise business process and content management – all available on the industry’s most popular hardware platforms for financial institutions of all types and sizes.
Among the technology partners serving the nation’s community banks, Fiserv ITI is recognized as a thought leader in Hispanic banking, offering an array of solutions including Spanish-language Internet and telephone banking software, online branding services, and a popular Hispanic Banking Toolkit that provides insight into cultural differences and common barriers to banking for Hispanics, as well as product and service recommendations, marketing strategies, best-practice tips and more.

“We were very impressed with Fiserv’s comprehension of the Hispanic culture,” said Flores. Nuestro Banco is particularly looking forward to implementing Premier’s workflows and processes that accommodate commercial lending, because of the potential offered by the growing number of small businesses owned by Latinos in North Carolina. Flores added ITI’s flexible, integrated software will enable Nuestro Banco to capture a vital portion of the Hispanic lending market by providing entrepreneurs the services they need to grow their businesses.

Scalability was also a factor in Nuestro Banco’s decision to work with Fiserv ITI. The bank has an aggressive growth plan that includes two branch openings a year for the next several years and it hopes this plan will leave them in a position to dominate the Hispanic banking sector throughout the southeastern U.S.

“The ability of ITI’s Premier software to grow with us and respond to our needs, and our customers’ needs, will allow us to succeed and thrive as the Hispanic market evolves,” said Flores.

“It’s estimated the Hispanic population will account for 50 percent of all U.S. retail banking growth by 2015, and yet this market remains largely untapped by banks and credit unions,” according to Mike Young, president, Fiserv Bank & Thrift Division. “Fiserv has and will continue to develop the products and services required for Hispanic banking but it’s really our commitment to this market, and the dedicated team we’ve assembled to aid development and implementation, that makes Fiserv stand out from the competition.”

About Information Technology, Inc. (ITI)

Serving more U.S. banks and savings institutions than any other partner, ITI offers several core solutions for either outsourced or in-house account processing, including the SOA-based Premier® and PCS Vision™ suites. The company’s highly scalable software and advanced consulting services support virtually every banking function, including core accounting, branch and Internet banking, business intelligence, risk and compliance, remote capture and transaction management, enterprise business process and content management – all available on the industry’s most popular hardware platforms for financial institutions of all types and sizes. A business unit of Fiserv, ITI can be found on the Internet at http://www.itiwnet.com/.
About Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management and electronic commerce systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, electronic bill payment and presentment, investment management solutions, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., the company 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. In 2007, the company completed the acquisition of CheckFree, a leading provider of electronic commerce services. Fiserv reported nearly $4 billion in total revenue from continuing operations for 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.fiserv.com/.
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Fiserv ITIDavid CardenSVP, Marketing & Communications402-421-4211david.carden@iti.fiserv.comorFiserv, Inc.Lori StaffordAssistant Vice President Corp. Communications262-879-5130lori.stafford@fiserv.com