New York, July 16, 2009 - J.P. Morgan announced today that it has been selected by the Western States EBT Alliance (WSEA) for the distribution of benefit payments via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), direct deposit and commercial branded debit card services. J.P. Morgan has served as EBT contractor to WSEA's member states since 1996. Through the continued partnership with J.P. Morgan, WSEA is able to supply needy families with convenient, safe, easy-to-use EBT and debit cards that allow recipients to access their benefits and payment programs.
Current programs administered by WSEA include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the "Food Stamp Program"), Special Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and child support payments.
The WSEA member states joined in their initial procurement for EBT services in 1996 and first re-procurement in 2002. The WSEA has grown to ten members from its original six, and now consists of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming.
J.P. Morgan's EBT, debit and stored value cards help state governments to cut the time and costs associated with the delivery of benefit payments. An alternative to expensive and cumbersome paper-based systems like checks or vouchers, EBT, debit and stored value cards reduce the significant costs of check delivery, administrative security and fraud, while enabling governments to enhance their paperless environmental initiatives.
According to WSEA spokesperson, Wayne Akizaki with the State of Hawaii's Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division, "Over the next five years, WSEA anticipates an unprecedented growth in the number of households served. J.P. Morgan presented the best value to help us continue to achieve economies of scale in volumes of transactions through tiered pricing and common system functionality with no disruption or change to the States' current operations and no changes to the states' EBT interfaces."
"J.P. Morgan is honored to continue our 13-year partnership with WSEA," said Laurie Neill, Managing Director of Public Sector Solutions, J.P. Morgan. "We look forward to continuing to serve WSEA and helping them to leverage new and innovative technologies that will provide improved service and/or operational savings, such as Web services, innovative marketing strategies, enhanced card technologies and card production techniques, and detection and prevention of fraud."
J.P. Morgan is the national leader in bringing electronic benefit and banking solutions for low-income households through EBT, debit and stored value cards that provide SNAP, unemployment and other benefits, pension and entitlement payments to approximately 12 million cardholders in approximately 30 states and territories, the United Kingdom and South America. Each month, the company is responsible for processing over 130 million transactions and handling over $3 billion in funds in the U.S., the large majority relating to government programs. For more information about J.P. Morgan's EBT, debit and stored value card solutions, go to www.jpmorgan.com/publicsector
About J.P. Morgan Treasury Services
The Treasury Services business of J.P. Morgan is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 39 countries, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services is one of the world's largest providers of treasury management services and a division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC. More information can be found at www.jpmorgan.com/ts.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, J.P. Morgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
