Fiserv's Cleartouch in High Demand

Fiserv, Inc. (FISV - Analyst Report) recently declared that its latest account processing portal, Cleartouch has been adopted by six financial institutions. These institutions have selected Fiserv’s latest platform given its highly developed technology along with flexible, scalable and integrated systems.

These financial organizations include Mansfield Bank, The Home Building & Loan Company, Kennebec Federal Savings & Loan Association, Magyar Bank, Webster City Federal Savings Bank and Winchester Savings Bank. This association with Fiserv will help these organizations deploy not only the company’s Cleartouch platform but also gain access to a range of Fiserv’s various service offerings such as AccountCreate for easy opening of online account, AML Manager for risk management solutions, Financial Cards required for card generation, Retail Online for online banking solutions, Mobiliti for fast mobile banking and Popmoney for user-friendly bill payment services.

Fiserv’s management averred that its completely integrated user-friendly solution would improve the account process management and banking services of these institutions significantly and augment its client base in future. In addition, this relationship is also likely to improve Fiserv’s expertise and business prospects moving ahead.

The company appears quite proactive in winning contracts of late. On August 7, 2012, the company declared that Navy Army Community Credit Union has selected its Source Capture Solutions platform. These associations are likely to be major growth drivers for the company going forward.

However, even with such moves, it is always wise for Fiserv to be extra cautious of competitive strides in the industry. The company’s primary competitors comprise big players such as Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Analyst Report), Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS - Analyst Report) and Total System Services, Inc. (TSS - Analyst Report). Moreover, Fiserv faces an ongoing threat from billers and self-sufficient financial institutions that develop and use their own electronic payment transactions and Internet banking solutions.

The current Zacks Consensus Estimates for Fiserv, Inc. are $1.27 and $5.18 for the third quarter of 2012 and for 2012, respectively. The estimates represent a year-over-year growth of 9.82% for the third quarter and 13.06% for 2012. We currently have a long-term ‘Neutral’ recommendation for Fiserv. The stock also bears a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term rating of ‘Hold’.