Ugo Panini, Chairman, Panini SpA In October 2007, Panini announced a multi-year innovation and growth strategy, and on April 10, 2008, the company announced a major step towards executing this plan by signing a partnership with ILP III, a private equity fund.

Can you qualify this partnership?

UP: Panini has entered into a partnership with ILP III, a private equity fund that will now own a majority position in the equity ownership of the company. 

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Why is this partnership important?

UP: Panini has experienced unprecedented growth, and announced plans to accelerate growth and innovation to even higher levels in late 2007. The partnership with ILP III, an equity fund specializing in partnerships with high growth companies, is an important milestone towards the achievement of the Panini strategic plan, providing accelerated access to capital and management capabilities. This will allow Panini to expand into new geographic and product markets while further strengthening its leadership position in the U.S. distributed capture market.

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What does this partnership mean to Panini North America’s customers and partners?

UP: Panini customers and partners will benefit the most from the partnership between Panini and ILP III. Panini will be able to leverage its existing strengths of market leadership, total quality, and innovation in an accelerated manner. Customers and partners will see Panini capable of doing more, in less time than ever before.

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What substantive changes can customers and partners expect?

UP: Our strategies and product offerings will remain uninterrupted, and the leadership of Panini North America will also remain unchanged. Panini North America will be strongly positioned for aggressive pursuit of potential growth opportunities. With access to additional capital and management resources via the partnership, we will be able to change the breadth and rate of innovation and growth throughout the company.

Torino, Italy, home of Panini’s corporate headquarters, has been selected as the 2008 World Design Capital. The city will be hosting various exhibitions, competitions, public events, and educational projects in support of this year long event.

Panini SpA is participating in this global design opportunity with the creation, execution and management of a worldwide contest to “Design the Bank Branch of the Future.” Students from design schools throughout the world, including the United States, have submitted innovative concepts rethinking check management as an element in the complex interactive teller system. A committee including individuals from many government, media, educational, and local organizations will select the winner(s) from the 270 entries representing 37 countries. The winners were presented at a ceremony in May.

For more information, visit www.paninidesigncontest.com.

Panini and BB&T to Present at TAWPI Forum & Expo Tuesday, August 26 at 10:30am.

As remote deposit capture (RDC) adoption continues to accelerate, market awareness and segmentation are becoming increasingly important. Panini and BB&T will provide the audience with a profile of RDC market opportunities as well as a customer case study (including RDC end user, GVA Advantis), from both the bank and user perspective, covering the implementation and results of their RDC solution. Linda Hooks, BB&T and Linda Rushak, GVA Advantis, will join Michael Pratt, CMO, Panini, for the presentation. For more information, visit www.tawpi.org.

Panini’s VP of Sales, Kevin Han, participated in the NACHA Payments panel, Check Electronification Hardware — Fact, Fiction & What You Need to Know, moderated by John Leekley, CEO, RemoteDepositCapture.com.

The session covered the critical role of scanning hardware in the overall RDC solution. This panel of hardware experts addressed the key considerations for scanning hardware including functionality, pricing, deployment/fulfillment, service and support. Industry trends and the future of Check Electronification Hardware were also addressed.

Additionally, at the conference Panini announced that over 250,000 My Vision X® check scanners have been sold.

Michael Pratt, Chief Marketing Officer, Panini North America, participated in the Check Scanner Implementation Focus session at the RDC Summit sponsored by BAI and RemoteDepositCapture.com.

Michael offered his expertise on how to select the right scanner for your organization, what to look for in a check scanner, linkages & dependencies between scanners & software solutions, how scanners play a role in image quality & risk, deployment opportunities, service & support considerations and more. For more information, visit www.remotedepositcapture.com.

Merrill Lynch Selects the Panini My Vision X® for Remote Deposit Capture
PSG, Inc. (Merrill Lynch RDC Client) Realizes Benefits

Daniel McVeigh, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch notes several benefits of the Merrill Lynch Remote Check Deposit Service and the Panini My Vision X for their clients:

• The ability to make multiple deposits into their working capital management accounts throughout the day directly from their business
• Elimination of transportation and labor costs
• Improved cash flow for the business because they have access to their funds more quickly
• Deposits can be made at times that are convenient for Merrill Lynch clients.

"The Panini My Vision X is extremely easy to install," adds McVeigh.

Merrill Lynch RDC client, PSG, Inc., describes the remote deposit capture process as very easy. According to Lori Boyd, Financial Director, "It was a 30 minute phone call to get the scanner set up, and we were up and running that very day. [To make a deposit] I just log on to the Merrill Lynch website, which starts the application, then I run my checks through the Panini My Vision X scanner. Our checks are deposited to the account, and it’s posted that evening."

"We saw a return on our investment in about 6 weeks," adds Boyd. "The reliability and convenience of the My Vision X really makes us feel comfortable; it’s very easy to use."

"Panini has been an extremely supportive business partner and a global leader in technology innovation,” Daniel McVeigh declares. “Using the My Vision X allows Merrill Lynch to provide our clients with Panini’s cutting edge technology."

"It’s a decision that just makes sense,” notes Boyd. “It takes less time, and less money to deposit funds into your account with Remote Check Deposit and the Panini My Vision X."

"We would absolutely recommend Panini’s My Vision X to other financial institutions," McVeigh concludes.

To view the full case study, including the powerful video, visit www.paninina.com/merrill-lynch.