Hans Honored as Check Casher of the Year by Cheklist Magazine and the Financial Service Centers of America

(Hackensack, NJ, October 24, 2000) - Illinois businessman Abby Hans has been selected as Check Casher of the Year by Cheklist magazine and the Financial Service Centers of America (FiSCA), a professional association serving more than 3,700 individual financial service centers across the United States. Hans has 29 years of experience in the check cashing industry and operates five financial service centers with his wife, Sharyl, in the Chicago area.

Hans served from 1994 to 1997 as president of the Community Currency Exchange Association of Illinois, the state’s trade association for the check cashing industry. He also served as FiSCA’s chairman from 1997 to 2000.

Hans has been an active community advocate for many years. He was instrumental in gaining funding for community based initiatives and made considerable donations to neighborhood projects. He was recognized for this effort in 1991 when the City of Chicago honored him with its Superior Public Service Award.

While Hans was chairman of FiSCA, he instituted the Activa Awards, which are given to association members who have demonstrated a commitment to community service. He has also been an advocate of liaison building with neighborhood financial institutions and a strong supporter of FiSCA’s National Scholarship Program.

"Abby has made a great contribution to the positive growth of FiSCA and the check cashing industry," said Willliam Siegel, FiSCA chairman. "The Activa Awards and the National Scholarship Program are, in part, a result of his efforts and his commitment to community service. He is truly deserving of the Check Casher of the Year Award."

FiSCA, founded in 1987, is a professional association serving 3,700 individual financial service centers across the United States. FiSCA members provide local communities with check cashing, access to money orders; money wire transfers; automatic teller machine access; the ability to make bank withdrawals and balance inquiries; cash advances; Social Security benefit payments; public assistance benefits; electronic bill payment services; deferred deposit services; electronic tax preparation and filing; public transportation fare and token sales and motor vehicle license plate and title distribution. FiSCA is the industry’s leading voice on legislative, regulatory and business issues that effect its members and the rights of consumers to access basic financial services. The industry cashes an estimated 180 million checks annually, with an aggregate face value of $55 billion.