Checkgateway Brings ACH and Credit Card Processing to Brick-and-Mortar Merchants

Phoenix, AZ – December 7, 2005 -- Checkgateway, a leading provider of electronic payment services, announced today that its ACH and credit card processing is now available to businesses and retailers at physical locations. Checkgateway (www.checkgateway.com ) has been processing payments for Internet retailers since 1992 and now merchants in “street side” venues can also accept checks and process card payments by web, virtual terminal, POS, phone or mobile terminal.

“This is the perfect solution for any business that has to manage recurring billing,” says John Kirchhefer, President, Checkgateway. “Now, any type of establishment including medical offices, restaurants, fitness clubs or even self storage facilities can benefit from our services and tailor them to their own specific billing and payment processing needs.”

Businesses can easily establish automated ACH and credit card payments for customers on a recurring schedule and alter recurring bill payment plans to suit customers' cash flow needs. If and when needs change, customers can take advantage of Checkgateway’s MerchantCenter to reset payment schedules quickly.

Merchants that sign up for ACH and credit card processing with Checkgateway will also be able to take advantage of the following payment solutions that include check and credit card verification:

FraudChek:
Checkgateway’s FraudChek provides merchants with fraud protection and puts them in the driver’s seat with the industry’s first – and only – merchant-defined, weighted scoring system. The power and reliability of StarChek Network and Experian’s database provide the base for Checkgateway’s innovative fraud-busting FraudChek. FraudChek works by authenticating a customer's name, address verification, telephone number, social security number, and driver's license information. Information is cross-matched, providing an even greater assurance in a customer's identity.

ChekNow:
Checkgateway's new ChekNow product allows merchants to easily and instantaneously convert a paper check to an e-check at the point of sale.

About Checkgateway
Checkgateway, a leader and innovator in the Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment processing industry, has been an ACH service bureau since 1993. Checkgateway is an affiliate member of the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), an organization charged with making operational rules for the ACH network. Checkgateway is one of the only ACH processors using Experian’s eSeries Authentication Solution, which it has been using since 2002, to verify the identity of electronic check holders and StarChek, a network of First Data Corp, which Checkgateway has been using since 1992, enables both physical and virtual retailers to route check verifications, online via the STAR Network, to the Primary Payment Systems, Inc. (PPS) databases and determine - in real time - whether a check is likely to be returned. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information contact 480-785-2262 see www.checkgateway.com.