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General Assistance
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1.
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What is the Automated Card Expert?
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2.
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Features-At-A-Glance
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3.
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Can more that one representative at my bank utilize ACE?
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4.
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Is there a fee to use ACE?
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5.
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How much time can I spend viewing my reports in Automated Card Expert?
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6.
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Why has a new Top Peer Performers column replaced the Bancard Consolidated Average column in my ACE reports?
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7.
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What if I don't see my question?
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New Users Assistance
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1.
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This is the first time I’ve logged on to ACE. Where do I begin?
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2.
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What if I can’t complete analyzing my program in one session?
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3.
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I’ve just become a ICBA Bancard issuer, how soon will I be able to analyze my bank’s data?
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4.
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How is the ICBA Bancard Peer Average calculated on the Comparison to Industry Reports?
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Data Assistance
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1.
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Where does the data used in the reports and graphs come from?
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2.
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Is it safe to transmit my bank numbers over the Internet? Can anyone else view my information?
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3.
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How are the ICBA Bancard averages calculated?
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4.
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How are the Bank Input expenses allocated to the credit card plans?
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5.
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How are the Cost of Funds calculated?
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6.
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What do the different fields in each report mean? How are these numbers calculated?
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7.
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Why is there a slight difference in the report data and the graph data?
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8.
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What figures are included in the Direct Expenses field?
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9.
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How is the Top Peer Performers column calculated?
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10.
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My bank has agent banks in our portfolio. How can I view their data?
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11.
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Why does the data for my agent banks only go back as far as January 2004?
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12.
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The reports in the Detailed Analysis-Revenue Breakdown section changed in January 2005. What changes were made and can I view individual plans now?
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Technical Assistance
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1.
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What are the computer requirements to run Automated Card Expert?
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2.
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Are the reports and graphs printable?
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3.
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The links to the Marketing Manual are in Adobe Acrobat format. How do I view those?
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4.
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When I click on Start Simulation in the Simulation Analysis, it doesn't do anything. Why am I not able to run simulations?
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Top
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Q:
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What is the Automated Card Expert?
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A:
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The Automated Card Expert is a portfolio assessment tool developed by ICBA Bancard exclusively for our participating banks. It analyzes your bank numbers (Account Growth, Penetration and Activity; Credit Lines, Outstandings, Volume, and Usage; Receivable Aging; and Revenue, Expenses and Profitability) using spreadsheets and graphs. It also allows you to research proven growth strategies and tactics (Acquisition/Penetration, Activation, Usage and Retention) from VISA, MasterCard and other community banks to keep your portfolio moving in the right direction.
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Top
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Q:
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Features-At-A-Glance
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A:
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There are five main areas of ACE:
Step-By-Step Analysis
This 6-step process offers a quick evaluation of how your card program measures up. Compare your key performance indicators to ICBA Bancard averages, identify strengths and opportunities and then link directly to Card Growth Strategies for suggestions on how to improve your numbers.
Simulation
The ACE Simulation Analysis section enables you to perform “what-if” scenarios on existing credit card plans or add a new credit card plan to your portfolio in a simulation mode. This will give you an estimate of how your desired changes will affect your bottom line and help to determine the most effective strategy for your current portfolio needs.
Detailed Analysis
Use these in-depth reports to analyze your Account Growth, Penetration and Activity; Usage and Volume; Receivable Aging; and Revenue, Expense and Profitability. Track your portfolio’s progress by month or year and compare your results to other Bancard banks' averages using spreadsheets and graphs.
Card Growth Strategies
Review essential Acquisition/Penetration, Activation, Usage, and Retention strategies for marketing your card program and learn innovative growth tactics to enhance your portfolio’s performance.
Portfolio Analysis
This feature will analyze each bank’s portfolio in an attempt to help prioritize portfolio management efforts. This feature looks at 9 different portfolio metrics and their associated revenue items. Reports available include –Summary Report, Usage Report, Average Sales, Total Volume/ Account Billed, Average Outstanding Balances, Average Credit Line, Cash Advance Volume/ Account Billed, Active Account Percentages.
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Top
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Q:
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Can more that one representative at my bank utilize ACE?
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A:
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Yes. Each user at your bank can have their own user name and password, so you can view the information and reports that are important to you. To obtain a username and password, visit www.icbabancard.org.
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Top
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Q:
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Is there a fee to use ACE?
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A:
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No. ICBA Bancard has designed ACE exclusively for our participating banks as an added benefit at no cost.
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Top
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Q:
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How much time can I spend viewing my reports in Automated Card Expert?
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A:
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The session length for the Automated Card Expert is 30 minutes. This means that if you happen to leave your computer or are not actively using the ACE tool for this amount of time, then you will be prompted to enter your User Name again. This is an additional safety feature included with the tool to deter unauthorized users. If you are actively using the ACE tool, then there is no limit on your time.
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Top
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Q:
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Why has a new Top Peer Performers column replaced the Bancard Consolidated Average column in my ACE reports?
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A:
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The reason we chose to add a Top Peer Performers column to the ACE tool was to provide our banks with a guide that can be used to set performance goals. Now your bank has an idea of the performance levels of your top peer banks.
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Top
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Q:
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What if I don't see my question?
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A:
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Please email us at Bancard@icba.org and we will assist you with any questions you may have.
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Top
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Q:
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This is the first time I’ve logged on to ACE. Where do I begin?
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A:
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Start with the Step-By-Step analysis. Then for more in-depth analysis of your bank’s numbers, go through the Detailed Analysis.
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Top
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Q:
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What if I can’t complete analyzing my program in one session?
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A:
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ACE will remember any information you have entered and submitted. Upon logging on next time, you will simply need to navigate to where your previous session ended and pick-up where you left off.
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Top
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Q:
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I’ve just become a ICBA Bancard participant, how soon will I be able to analyze my bank’s data?
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A:
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After you receive the first hard copy of your Executive Report and Integrated Billing Statement, your bank’s information will be available on ACE.
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Top
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Q:
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How is the ICBA Bancard Peer Average calculated on the Comparison to Industry Reports?
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A:
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The peer average is calculated from Bancard banks with similar card account sizes.
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Ranges include:
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0 - 250 accounts
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251 - 500 accounts
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501 - 1,000 accounts
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1,001 - 2,000 accounts
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2,001 - 3,000 accounts
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3,001 - 5,000 accounts
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5,001 - 10,000 accounts
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10,001 - 15,000 accounts
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15,001 - 20,000 accounts
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more than 20,000 accounts
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Top
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Q:
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Where does the data used in the reports and graphs come from?
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A:
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The data from your monthly FIS Executive Report and Integrated Billing Statement is transmitted over the Internet and automatically uploaded to ACE on approximately the 20th day of every month. If you have requested FIS to include only consolidated numbers from all of your card BINS in the Executive Report and Integrated Billing Statement, then you will only be able to analyze your program on a consolidated basis using ACE. If they detail each card plan your bank has, then ACE will be able to analyze each card plan individually or consolidated.
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Top
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Q:
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Is it safe to transmit my bank numbers over the Internet? Can anyone else view my information?
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A:
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All information transmitted over the Internet through ACE is encrypted for your protection using Secure Socket Layers (SSL). Encryption is a means of scrambling information for transmission. Information is encrypted at one end and decrypted upon receipt on the other end. ACE utilizes 128-bit encryption.
In addition, in order to ensure that representatives from your bank are the only ones that have access to your bank's numbers, we have included this in the password-protected part of our Web site.
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Top
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Q:
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How are the ICBA Bancard averages calculated?
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The averages are automatically calculated each month based on the actual VISA and MasterCard numbers of ICBA Bancard banks. Classic and Standard results are combined; Platinum and Gold are combined into Premium.
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Top
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Q:
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How are the Bank Input expenses allocated to the credit card plans?
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A:
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The expenses entered by your bank are allocated equally by the number of card plans in your portfolio, except for the cost of funds figure. The Cost of Funds is calculated directly by the outstandings for each specific plan.
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Top
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Q:
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How are the Cost of Funds calculated?
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The Cost of Funds are entered on the Bank Input page as a percentage. That percentage is then divided by 12 and multiplied by the outstandings to show an annualized amount. The actual formula is as follows:
(Cost of Funds % / 12) x Outstandings = Annualized Cost of Funds in $
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Top
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Q:
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What do the different fields in each report mean? How are these numbers calculated?
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To view a brief explanation of each field in the Step-by-Step reports, simply hover your mouse over that field for a few seconds. You will notice that either a description or formula will appear to describe what that particular field represents. If you still have questions, you can always email Bancard at bancard@icba.org.
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Top
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Q:
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Why is there a slight difference in the report data and the graph data?
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A:
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The data in the reports are rounded up slightly so that they fit within the report tables. If they were not, the table would be crowded with data and hard to comprehend. The data in the graphs are not rounded because they are represented graphically and have no size limitations.
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Top
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Q:
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What figures are included in the Direct Expenses field?
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A:
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The Direct Expenses field takes data from 3 different sources: FIS Integrated Billing Statement*, FIS Executive Report**, and the ACE Bank Input*** form. Below is the formula used to calculate Total Direct Expenses:
Total Direct Expenses = ([Sum of all Integrated Billing Expenses* - Net Interchange Credit & Other Credits*]-1) + Month-to-Date Loan Losses** + Month-to-Date Fraud Charge Offs** + Cost of Funds*** + Administrative & Marketing Expenses*** + Miscellaneous Expenses***
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Top
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Q:
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How is the Top Peer Performers column calculated?
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A:
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We calculate the Net Income per Accounts for the most recent 12 months and then make a subset of the top performers in this group. The performers are then ranked from highest to lowest and the top 10% are included in the Top Peer group. This group's performance numbers are then combined and averaged to generate the Top Peer Performers values. This group is recalculated and updated twice a year in order to have consistently better than average figures.
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Top
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Q:
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My bank has agent banks in our portfolio. How can I view their data?
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There are 2 ways to access this data:
- There is an Emulate Bank or Change Institution option under the Portfolio option within ACE tool. Simply click on this option and you will be taken to a page that includes a drop down list. This list entails all of your main bank's plans by plan number and the agent banks by bank name. Select the agent bank that you would like to view and click the “Use selected="true"="true"="true"="true"="true"="true"="true"Institution” button to be taken to that agent bank's reports. At that time you will be able to pull out individual plans to review and/or perform simulations upon.
- While in the Card Program Analysis option, select the Change Criteria link found in the right navigation plan. You have two options:
To choose individual agent banks, scroll down the list - you will first see all the plans, followed by the Agent Banks. If you want to select all agent banks –select the Bank option (the first selection at the very top) to select all plans and agent banks available. Click the Save Data button at the bottom of the box. ACE will then reload with that agent bank's data.
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Top
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Q:
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Why does the data for my agent banks only go back as far as January 2004?
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A:
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When we started this project, we worked very closely with FIS to be able to obtain as much historical data as possible. Since we were not able to get data from the beginning of 2003, we decided that it would be best to start with January 2004 data to ensure that the year-end reports were accurate.
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Top
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Q:
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The reports in the Detailed Analysis-Revenue Breakdown section changed in January 2005. What changes were made and can I view individual plans now?
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A:
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Changes were made in this report so that the expense data is now distributed evenly over all of the card plans that your bank offers. This in turn allows banks to be able to view their individual card plan data instead of just the consolidated data. ACE now takes all FIS expense data and all bank input expense data and adds them together for each field. This total is then divided by the number of plans that your bank offers. Now, depending on how many plans you choose to view in your report, ACE multiplies the number of those plans by the average expense total to get an even allocation of expense per plan.
For ex. - If you have 5 plans and have a total of $500 miscellaneous expenses. Your average miscellaneous expense per plan would be $100. If you choose to view 3 plans, your miscellaneous expense for those plans would be $300.
Please Note - If you have agent banks, you will need to enter additional (non-FIS) expense data for each of these banks through their corresponding Bank Input forms.
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Q:
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What are the computer requirements to run Automated Card Expert?
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Automated Card Expert can be viewed using either Internet Explorer 4.0 (or above) or Netscape Navigator 6.0 (or above). To download a free copy of Netscape Navigator 6.0 click here.
The target computer specifications for optimal use of the software are:
- Modem Speed –56K
- Processor –300mhz Pentium
- RAM - 32 megabytes
- Screen Resolution –800 x 600
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Q:
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Are the reports and graphs printable?
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Yes, all reports and graphs can be printed using either a color or b/w printer. We recommend printing the monthly history report landscape on 8-1/2 x 14” paper.
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Top
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Q:
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The links to the Marketing Manual are in Adobe Acrobat format. How do I view those?
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A:
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If you do not have an Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, then click HERE to download a FREE copy! Otherwise, simply click on the link and give your computer a minute to download the file. Some files are larger than others and make take longer to download. All files are printable on a b/w or color printer.
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Q:
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When I click on Start Simulation in the Simulation Analysis, it doesn't do anything. Why am I not able to run simulations?
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If your computer does nothing when you click on the Start Simulation button in the Simulation Analysis section, this is because the Microsoft script files on your computer need to be updated. This is a simple process that takes only a few minutes of your time. The updated script downloads come straight from the Microsoft website with detailed instructions. Before downloading anything to your computer, please check with your System Administrator for approval.
Depending on your operating system, click on one of the following links and following the instructions:
Win 2000 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C717D943-7E4B-4622-86EB-95A22B832CAA&displaylang=en
Win 98, ME and NT 4.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=0A8A18F6-249C-4A72-BFCF-FC6AF26DC390&displaylang=en
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