Cash Management Services name HCA/270
September 04, 2011 teachers name

Cash Management Services
Cash management services are ideal for most if not all businesses. These services provide businesses with the tools they need in order to ensure that their money is being handled properly. I am going to compare the cash management services that are offered at three banks: Old National Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Chase.
Old National Bank
I chose Old National Bank firs because this is a bank that I am very familiar with. We have our auto loan through Old National and my previous auto loan was through them as well. They have excellent customer service and are always willing to help their clients out any way that they can. Old National Bank has one hundred and seventy locations in four states: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio with their headquarters located in Evansville, Indiana.
Old National has a great online banking system. The site is very easy to navigate with many tutorials and demos provided. Under the business tab I am able to find out information regarding receivables, payables, information and money management along with fraud protection. Under each of these titles I am able to find out what services this bank provides while in the comfort of my own home.
Receivables management states that they can help accelerate and improve my cash position. (Old National, 2011) Services offered include: express deposit, retail lockbox, wholesale lockbox, consumer direct debit, cash concentration, represented check service and merchant processing. These services are great because driving to the bank for depositing or collecting would be almost eliminated, they issue the software needed for electronic deposits, debt reduction and idle cash investing are some of the great perks provided by this bank. They also offer credit, debit, corporate, fleet and prepaid cards which are a must for businesses.
Payables management keeps your cash working. (Old National, 2011) Under this tab one can find options like direct deposit and wire transfers. I found an option called Directo Paycard and I believe that this is something most businesses should look into. With this card employers are able to deposit employee’s paychecks directly to the card. This is wonderful because some people cannot qualify for a bank account because of low credit scores or inability to pay bank fees.
Owning a business means that a good amount of credit is needed. Looking into Old National they offer many different kinds of credit card options to choose from. The corporate card allows the business owner to control the credit. They can set spending limits on the card and control usage. However, if an employer would like a card with a bit of incentive then they should consider checking out the platinum plus business credit card. Not only do you get services like free online reports but you actually get rewards for using this card. As an option, you can add rewards to your card so, with every purchase, you will earn points toward travel discounts, free merchandise and many other perks. (Old National, 2011)
Whenever running a business the owner needs to know that whoever they are banking with offers detailed information and protection regarding the holders account. At Old National they have an information and money management system. These management options keep detailed information about transfers and balances while providing overdraft protection and a Line of Credit Sweep. Employers will also feel safe knowing that Old National will cover all of the business owners bank accounts and credit cards with fraud protection from ACH Block.
CHASE
Chase is located across most of the United States. Many people have credit cards through Chase but they offer so much more. At Chase, our cash management services can help you effectively manage your money and get you back to your work. (JP Morgan Chase & Co, 2011)
Chase Online for Business provides many tools for business owners to use cash management at their convenience. Business owners can access account information where they can view balances, transaction history and transfer money between Chase and other financial institutions. Investment management allows optimizing your balances can help you maintain adequate liquidity for your business while maximizing working capital. (J.P Morgan Chase & Co, 2011)
Making payments is smooth and efficient with all of the different options that Chase offers. Payroll services allow employees to be paid either direct deposit or through a payroll card. The Payroll Card Classic allows employees to receive funds if they are unable to open a checking account. Employees can use these cards to withdraw money from ATMs, pay bills or make purchases. Electronic payments offered through Payroll services help in managing direct deposits along with paying vendors and collecting payments online from your customers. Whether a business is big or small, the collection services offered by Chase can fit their needs. If geographic locations are a problem, Chase can provide a desktop scanner that can take images of your checks and deposit them into one or multiple accounts. An economy lockbox can be used at a business where customers can drop off payments twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. If a business owner would rather opt out of having a lock box at their business they can choose the wholesale lock box processing. We have seventeen lockbox locations where customers just mail their payments and Chase processes them the way the business owner instructs. Fraud is a growing concern for all small businesses. At Chase, our Positive Pay and Accounts Reconciliation products help stop check fraud before you incur a loss. (J.P. Morgan & Co, 2011) Chase compares check information in their database then sends emails to the business owner for reviewing. The owner can take care of all positive pay decisions online allowing the owner total control over all exceptions. If anything looks questionable the owner can send unauthorized checks to Chase and they will take care of the investigation process. FIFTH THIRD BANK Fifth Third Bank has one thousand three hundred sixty eight branch locations in twelve states. Judging by the options on the banks website they have quite a bit to offer. Fifth Third Bank has many great tools for maximizing a company’s cash flow. When you work with Fifth Third Bank, you'll discover that our full suite of Treasury Management solutions can give you the capabilities you need to help optimize your cash management strategies. (Fifth Third Bank, 2011) They can help process your funds faster, speed up your disbursement schedules and use fraud safeguards to protect businesses. Treasury and financing solutions are available through this bank. With these tools they can help analyze expenses and help companies understand cost structure. The treasury can help consolidate balances and manage the account or accounts. They will also help in rebuilding your business capital by refinancing debts for a better cash flow. When you work with Fifth Third Bank, we will help you evaluate your operations and your expenses. You’ll discover that our full suite of Treasury Management and Financing Solutions can provide you with the capabilities you need to help optimize your business strategies. (Fifth Third Bank, 2011) The information provided under the risk management section is very valuable. They will actually help a company by allowing different options regarding interest rates. They have something called an interest rate swap which actually allows the borrower to convert from a floating rate to a fixed rate or vice versa. Of course certain rules apply when doing this but this can help a company because they can determine future cash flows or operating expenses which will help with budgeting. An interest rate cap is offered here as well. This mainly deals with floating rates but these caps are like a buffer for a borrower. The borrower can benefit from the low floating interest rate and if the rate ends up rising, their rate will only go so high. This will save the borrower because if they had a floating interest rate of 4% with a maximum set at 6% but rates rose up to 10% they would only have to pay interest at the 6% rate because that is their cap. One thing offered at this bank that I did not see at the other two is a Health Savings Account. These accounts are very beneficial to employees because they can help pay for anything health related and the money comes directly out of their check each week. Free monthly statements, online bill payment options and online transfers are just some of the great perks with HSA. CONCLUSION I feel that all three banks offer quite a bit with cash management services. I could not find any information on starting interest rates for loans which was a bit disappointing. I feel that if people are truly seriously about starting their own business they need to have the facts up front and having guessed estimates for interest rates online would provide curious people with some insight. I would have to say if I had to choose a bank to go through that my decision would be based on how big my business was. If I was a large company with many clients throughout the country I would choose Chase but if I was a local Mom and Pop type business I would choose a local branch like Old National. I think that a health care organization could reduce opportunity costs by working with a banks cash management plans because the bank would be able to look through finances, check past statements and determine how much money the health care organization is losing. The bank can help set up a budget so the organization can start to turn a profit again.

Reference Page
Chase Cash Management Services. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/smallbusiness/cash_mgmt/page/cash_management
Old National Bank Cash Management. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.oldnational.com/business/cash-management/receivables-management.asp
Fifth Third Bank Make Your Working Capital Work Even Harder. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.53.com/site/business-banking/index.html?