[Note: This is the official press release that will be hitting the wires tomorrow announcing our merger with ACM to form United Tranz*Actions.]

National Check Trust, Inc. and American Check Management, Inc. two Leading Payment processing and Check Guarantee Companies announce merger to create one of the largest one stop solutions in the financial services market.

In January 2010 National Check Trust, Inc. (NCT) merged with – American Check Management, Inc. (ACM) another leader in check guarantee and payment processing solutions.

National Check Trust, Inc. (NCT), and American Check Management (ACM) united to create United Tranz*Actions, LLC. This merger represents the coming together of two companies with the expertise and technology to become the national leader in both check guarantee and payment processing solutions. The official name change will become effective on May 1, 2010.

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While there is plenty of news specific to NCT and to the industries we serve that we will be putting out via the blog over the coming days and months, there is no story more urgently relevant than what is going on right now in Haiti.

To show our support of Haiti and its people during their most exigent time of need, NCT is encouraging every person who reads this to donate to the Haitian relief effort. The employees of NCT have joined together to contribute and we encourage our clients to do so as well.

And while there are a plethora of websites where you can donate to Haiti, this is the one that we have chosen to use: PlanUSA.com.

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Recently, NCT founder and CEO Marty Halpern sat down to discuss his experience, his company, and the future of the check guarantee industry, with Jerod Morris, who is in charge of NCT’s online brand management. The transcript of their discussion is below:

Jerod Morris: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today, Mr. Halpern.

Marty Halpern: Call me Marty, please.

JM:  Thank you, Marty. As we begin, why don’t you provide our readers with a quick background on yourself and NCT.

MH: Well, I was born in New York City and have lived here in South Florida since 1985. I am married with two teenage kids who keep my wife and I very busy.

JM:  Why did you choose Ft. Lauderdale, FL as the place you wanted to live?

MH: In 1993, when my wife and I decided to have children we chose Ft. Lauderdale as the place. It is family oriented and I knew that eventually, I wanted to move my company here.  We actually made the move in Sept. of 2001 to Miramar just west of Ft. Lauderdale.

JM: What led you to start your own business?

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Cash for Clunkers has been incredibly popular from a consumer standpoint, with 457,000 cars being traded in thus far for a total rebate of $1.9 billion. As the Cash for Clunkers program approaches $3 billion, however, the funding is running dry and the plug is being pulled.

Auto dealers take note: the deadline to submit any pending Cash for Clunkers deals, including all paperwork, is 8:00 pm ET on Monday, August 24th.

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The Car Allowance Rebate System — better known by its nickname “Cash for Clunkers” — got underway yesterday with many auto dealers holding out high hopes that it could spurn better times. As expected, reviews for the program have been mixed.

We’ve compiled some of the up-to-date news about the C.A.R.S. program, with links and excerpts below. Additionally, to find out the list of dealers participating in the “Cash for Clunkers” program, follow the link to CARS.gov dealer locator.

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A quick roundup of news regarding a couple of NCT’s clients in the construction and building materials industry:

ABC Supply Promoted Greg Lanphear to Managing Partner

Greg Lanphear, who has been at ABC Supply since 1998, was recently promoted to the position of Managing Partner. Lanphear will continue to oversee operations at the El Cajon branch where he had been previously, but he will now also become an active member of the National Branch Advisory Board of ABC Supply.

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A quick roundup of some recent news regarding a couple of NCT’s clients in the furniture industry:

Ashley Furniture Expands Colton Distribution Center

While many in the furniture industry are experiencing the effects of the economic downturn, Ashley Furniture has expanded it’s footprint at its Cooley Ranch Industrial Park in Colton, CA.  The company recently announced that it was purchasing 439,000 additional feet of distribution space.  Ashley’s Colton distribution center supplies merchandise to the entire West Coast.

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One of the services NCT offers its merchant clients is point-of-sale (“POS”) electronic check conversion. Every product and service delivered by NCT is designed to improve efficiency, maximize cash flow, and minimize risk; electronic check conversion is no different.

What is POS Electronic Check Conversion?

Back in the “old days,” when a customer paid you by check, converting that check into cash required batch processing all of your checks together with physical trips to the bank. There were a few inherent problems with this system:

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In the coming weeks, we are planning a series of posts to provide more insight into check guarantee services, and specifically the services that we offer at NCT. One semi-common misconception is that check guarantee and check verification are the same. This is incorrect and is the subject of today’s post.

Check verification is the process of screening checks against positive and negative databases to ferret out the “bad check writers.” Obviously the risk of accepting a bad check is lessened if you have controls in place that limit your exposure to checks written by people with a checkered history (pun intended) of past check writing. Simply put, if the person trying to pay with a check doesn’t check out (again, pun intended) then you do not accept their check.

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The credit crunch’s rippling effect has touched every industry, including the furniture industry. Of the top furniture stores in the industry, Ashley furniture continues to make a strong statement. Currently furniture sales trends seem a bit disheartening, but there is hope on the horizon for the economic future of furniture sales.

Top 100: Ashley Furniture Ranks #1 in Top Furniture Stores

Ashley Furniture has been leading the pack for a while now and once again ranked #1 of 100 of the nations top furniture stores for the third year in a row. However, Ashley Furniture, a manufacturer and distributer of high quality furniture, hasn’t escaped the decline in sales volume. Although still ranking #1, they decreased by 15% in their sales numbers last year, topping off at 2.1 billion dollars in sales. With the overall downturn of the economy as a whole, the furniture industry has not escaped the fallout. A Furniture Today article outlines the specifics of the Top Furniture Stores and how the economic situation has affected the industry.

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