Northern Trust meets IT challenge by outsourcing check operations

Abstract

Faced with a major capital investment for its check processing center, Chicago-based Northern Trust needed a way to stay on the leading edge of technology but without excessive expenditures. However, investment in check processing presents a unique challenge: As electronic commerce picks up, check volume stands to drop off down the road. The bank enlisted Fiserv, Brookfield, Wisconsin, to take over its entire check processing operation. Fiserv assumed all of Northern Trust's check processing functions plus all the equipment and 300 bank employees.