Marcuccilli
FORT WAYNE – Allied Payment Network today will announce plans to invest more than $1.5 million and create 22 jobs within four years, the company’s founder told The Journal Gazette.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Alliance will make the official announcement, including information about $290,000 in incentives.
Allied offers online bill paying systems to banks and credit unions. The firm’s first client is ready to go live in June, and others are interested in trying the system, President Ralph Marcuccilli said.
Marcuccilli, who worked at Star Bank until the middle of last year, is using his behind-the-scenes knowledge to market the Fort Wayne-based company to financial institutions nationwide.
Some banks and credit unions operate their own online bill paying systems, including Star Bank, he said. Others go to one of four vendors. Marcuccilli, who confesses a fascination with technology, assessed the marketplace and saw an opening for another competitor.
Allied, with headquarters at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, will create online bill-paying pages that more closely mirror its customers’ existing websites, Marcuccilli said. His system will provide “a much simpler and intuitive user experience,” he said.
The company employs seven, with plans to add 22 full-time jobs in the next four years. The average annual salary exceeds $60,000.
The privately owned company has several investors.
About 75 percent of banking customers use Internet banking to check balances, but only about 25 percent use it to pay bills, he said.
Allied’s system gives consumers the option of making an expedited bill payment that can be delivered as quickly as the same day. The software also allows consumers to receive bills electronically in an in-box connected to their bill payment account instead of to a separate email account.
State and local officials are offering more than $290,000 in incentives for the project.
“The software industry is an important part of Indiana’s economy and a growing focus of our development efforts,” Gov. Mitch Daniels said in a prepared statement.