Fifth Third Bank and Balance Innovations Unite to Form Strategic Collaboration

Cincinnati, January 12, 2015 – Fifth Third Bank and Balance Innovations LLC announced today a joint marketing agreement. Fifth Third Bank and retail cash office reconciliation solutions provider Balance Innovations have teamed to offer each company’s cash management and payments expertise to provide solutions that will deliver distinctive value across all segments of the retail market.

Fifth Third Bank Currency Processing SolutionsTM (CPS), is an innovative, holistic managed service solution designed to manage cash operations for retailers. The solutions use the latest technology to:

Count, verify and secure cash in a retailer’s location
Reduce cash related operating costs
Improve working capital
Reduce cash shortages and other risks associated with managing cash

Balance Innovations’ ability to automate and streamline retailers’ cash office and front end operations is a natural complement to Fifth Third’s CPS suite. Through integration to the retailer’s point-of-sale system, Balance Innovations’ software solutions speed typical cash office tasks and provide valuable data to store personnel and management, resulting in greater efficiency, consistency and more time to focus on customer service and sales.
“Fifth Third provides innovative, creative solutions for retailers, making this an exciting opportunity,” said Mark Kohlrus, Chief Operating Officer of Balance Innovations. “Since our products are strategically aligned, it is mutually beneficial to associate our companies’ unique areas of expertise to change the way retailers manage their cash assets, leading to increased profits and working capital.”

Jeff Ficke, senior vice president of payment strategies and innovation for Fifth Third Bank, lauded Balance Innovations’ industry expertise and said the two organizations are ideal for this initiative.

“Balance Innovations’ knowledge of software integration and retail operations is among the most sophisticated in the industry,” said Ficke. “By uniting our core competencies, we are in position to create unique solutions that provide exceptional value to our retail customers.”

Fifth Third Bank’s CPS solutions will be a featured partner in Balance Innovations’ booth (#1753) at the 2015 National Retail Federation show in January in New York City.
About Balance Innovations
Balance Innovations is the leading developer of reconciliation and cash office management solutions for the retail industry. The company’s solutions integrate seamlessly with existing POS technologies to simplify and improve retailers’ cash office management operations. Balance Innovations’ premier product, VeriBalance, is an easy-to-use software solution that is helping retailers across the United States and Canada increase profitability and improve operations by reducing labor, bank fees and shrink while standardizing and enforcing best practices and corporate policies. Other products include: vbEPIX™, an electronic check processing solution; vbScout™, a self-checkout management tool; and vbInSight™, a corporate reporting product. Customers range from independent grocers to Fortune 50 retailers. For more information, visit www.balanceinnovations.com.
About Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $134 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,308 full-service Banking Centers, including 102 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,639 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 22.8% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2014, had $303 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $26 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Member FDIC. Subject to credit review and approval.

SOURCE: Fifth Third Bank