Treasurer’S Office Receives Marquis Award

Lincoln, Neb. – On Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, the Treasury Management division of the State Treasurer’s Office was the recipient of the prestigious Marquis Award from the Mid-America Payment Exchange (MPX) for exemplary achievements in ACH Awareness, expanded utilization of ACH applications, and increased ACH participation.

“In the electronic payments industry, the Marquis Award is one of the highest honors an organization can receive,” said Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn. “Our Treasury Management, are some of the most knowledgeable and dedicated public servants in my office and this award is a testament to their hard work.”

The State Treasurer’s Office was nominated by U.S. Bank – the state contracted ACH bank – and received the Marquis Award based in part on the following accomplishments from 2007:

• Treasurer Osborn’s mandating that all State vendors who receive payments at $50k or higher, or receive multiple payments a year, are required to receive them by ACH.

• The State’s increase of the total number of electronic disbursements by 10%.

• Treasurer Osborn’s expanded utilization of the Universal Payment Identification Codes (UPIC) to State tax remittance programs. The Treasurer’s Office has utilized the UPIC’s as a mechanism to protect State bank accounts from fraud and ensure that transactions are secure.

• An approximate increase of 250% in the number of disbursements loaded to prepaid debit cards for consumer payments.

• Treasurer Osborn increased the use of the ACH network to assist State agencies in collecting returned Insufficient Funds Checks (NSF) electronically. The Treasurer’s Office experienced an approximate 23% increase in the number of items the office attempted to collect on while 66% of the NSF returned checks of participating state programs were collected electronically without the interaction from agency staff.

“I am so proud every member of our Treasury Management division,” said Osborn. “They truly earned this award because no matter the situation and no matter the demand, they always find a way to surpass my expectations.”

For more information about the Marquis Award or the Treasury Management division, please contact Michelle Raphael in the State Treasurer’s office at 402.471.4146 or email her at:

Mid-America Payment Exchange is a regional not-for-profit payments association headquartered in Kansas City, MO. MPX provides payment systems and risk management education, support and industry leadership to about 2,000 financial institutions and corporate members throughout Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Southern Illinois, Southwestern Iowa, and Western Kentucky.