Successes - EVO Merchant Services
EVO achieves a 36 percent increase in productivity with Westbrook Fortis

Summary
Merchant Services, Inc., d/b/a EVO, is the payment processor of choice by over 85,000 businesses nationwide. In 2003, EVO handled over $7 billion in Visa, MasterCard and American Express transactions for businesses whose customers pay by credit card. Designed from the ground up to deliver the best sales, support and customer service in the industry, they are commended for delivering accounting integrity, flexible sales configurations and immediate problem resolution.

By implementing Westbrook Fortis document management software to improve filing sharing between the departments of Risk, Fraud & Analysis and Charge Back & Retrieval Processing, EVO experienced a 36 percent productivity gain by increasing the number of transactions processed by close to 10,000 more per year.

Because of the amount of physical space being occupied by their paper files - around 1,200 sq. feet – and the FTC requirement to maintain these files for seven years, retrieval was a nightmare at EVO. Add to that, the time and steps involved when investigating a risk and fraud case, and a document management solution was definitely needed.

Investigating a risk and fraud case calls for staff members to analyze a merchant’s transactions. If an issue with a customer is cited, the merchant’s file must be pulled for further investigation. Previously, the staff had to locate the file, resolve the issue and refile documentation. Accessing a file could take up to 10 minutes but even more critical was the need to refile the documents in a timely fashion for additional investigations of the same merchant. Other staff members may require those same documents to analyze a similar issue with the merchant. Since risk analysis could take up to several days, files were being held by the assigned staff member while others had to delay additional investigations.

With Fortis, files are easily shared and multiple investigations – involving the same merchant – can be handled concurrently. “With staff quickly and easily viewing files simultaneously, the department has gone from processing 2,200 merchant applications a month to 3,000,” said Bruce Esposito, chief information officer. That’s a 36 percent climb in annual productivity!

The Charge Back and Retrieval Processing Department investigates disputes involving the denial of a purchase made after it appears on a customer’s credit card statement. The resolution process involves examining a physical copy of the purchase receipt and all related documentation including correspondence to and from the merchant. All this documentation is stored in EVO’s Fortis system. Correspondence is sent via email or fax using Fortis to facilitate the transfer of documentation between EVO and the merchant.

Fortis has also led to a smoother applications process. As merchant applications are received, they are immediately scanned and accessible from Fortis. They no longer sit on staff desks waiting to have physical files created, said Esposito. This instant availability has cut down on file delays by 20 percent.

Using Fortis to export files and email PDF formatted-documents, EVO provides its sponsor bank with all merchant information. A quick retrieval and email speeds up litigation issues that EVO initiates as well as any data subpoenaed by the court. The sponsor bank in turn provides EVO with digital images of supporting documentation, which is automatically imported and indexed into Fortis.

EVO plans to continue its expansion of Fortis including web delivered merchant statements through Fortis Web and increased integration with their existing systems.

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