January 19, 2010 General Meeting

Welcome:

I would like to introduce two individuals in attendance. First, Bill Sellery of Sellery and Associates. Bill represents our industry in Washington, D.C. and will speak this evening on the threats that CFPA has on industry. I will add that last week I attended a FISCA blitz and let me state that the threats are real. Bill will discuss further.

Next, many of you have met Dick Smith of Bond, Schoeneck & King; Dick has been representing our industry for many years in Albany. He will speak this evening to the general membership on the Wal-Mart bill as well as the importance of PAC contributions.

I am hoping that this evening’s general membership meeting will have some new faces that include not only members who simply haven’t made it out to a meeting but non-members as well. If you remember late last year I had announced that membership stood at around 380 member locations. To put that in perspective there are around 270 locations represented in this room alone. We received a NYS banking Department list of licensed locations in excess of 770 locations. This puts the ratio of licensed locations to membership at around 50 percent. That simply is not good enough, especially in the tumultuous times that the industry is facing. You should have already noticed a change in how we announce the General membership meetings ranging from blast emails, bulk mailings and calls to licensees. These and many other types of efforts will continue as we aim to grow membership this year by no less than 10%. This is much needed growth needed in order to avoid a midyear assessment.

This evening the message we will deliver to those in attendance is the opportunities that lie and the threats that exist. I know that there are many times that we focus on the pressures that our industry is facing. However I feel that we should now take a step back and recognize the opportunities that may be out there. Whether it is capitalizing on the general public’s negative sentiment towards banks and effectively marketing our innovative products ranging from pre-paid cards to credit union Point of Banking. We as neighborhood financial service centers should continue to maintain our businesses as focal points for information to our communities offering information on no-cost health insurance, Census bureau information including temporary employment, voter registration kiosks and disaster relief collections like our Haitian relief fund.

Dick Smith will touch on the importance of PAC fund contributions, I want to elaborate our target dollar goal. Last year was the second highest PAC contribution year since 2002. This year should be no different as many of the legislative agenda items will be introduced. This includes Banco bill permanency and a small dollar loan bill. Also, we will continue to have to contend with the NYS program bill or Walmart Bill through the end of this year. Last year a motion was passed that would require PAC contributions by Board of Directors of $2,000 each. Many of you complied, several of you did not. Some of you didn’t even give from your Corporations.

Yesterday Hank Shyne, Ray Mustafa and I met with Chris Kawula of Western Union and we communicated our displeasure with their direct mail marketing of Pre-Paid cards to check cashing customers. The exchanges were open and when asked what we were seeking I offered two critical actions that must take place. First immediately cease from marketing to NYS check cashing customers and second in response to their request on how they can develop a product that would include the check casher we told them to return with an offer that would allow the check cashers to make a business decision to offer it if they choose to. We expressed to them that the money transmission business was far too important for them to take such an action and not realize the consequences.

In closing, many of you may remember Councilmen Mattieu Eugene of Brooklyn. Dr. Eugene, the first Haitian elected official in NYC, is sponsoring a bill in the City Council in February that would designate licensed check cashers as the authorized agents for parking ticket violations. I met this gentleman during our Public Affairs outreach. The councilman extended an invitation to his inauguration 2 weeks ago to a small group and I attended. 1 week later on January 12 the Earth quake struck Haiti. This is a very trying time for the millions affected including the 150,000 Haitians that reside in NY. I communicated to the Councilman that the FSCNY will mobilize its members and raise much needed funds for his fellow countrymen. If you haven’t done so please visit our website to download our “Haiti Relief Fund” posters or contact Pay-O-Matic for a free poster and flyer set that may be delivered directly to your site. I want to thank Rich Gaccione of Pay-O-Matic Corp, Chris Kawula of Western Union and Juan Melendez of MoneyGram for their contributions and Lou Costantini of Grafico Inc. for getting together such a quick response to the artwork and donating the printing cost.

Thank you.

Jason Carballo, President

September 15, 2009 General Meeting

Welcome:

This evening we will fill the seats of eleven board members this includes 7 incumbents. A Banking campaign initiative will be discussed in detail and we will describe to the membership FSCNY’s 60 day strategy to address the myriad of issues affecting our Industry as well as how we plan on effectively utilizing our political relations in order to achieve the goals that were set earlier in the year.

This summer remained an active summer. If you did not attend our meeting with Gov. Paterson in quoting Gerry Goldman it was definitely a home run. The Governors candid response to our issues and his openness to review and sign a
CEL bill should it pass both the Senate and Assembly was what we were seeking.

As you may be aware another change in the Democratic Leadership took place when Sen. John Sampson of Brooklyn took the position. Roughly one week after his assuming his position Ed, Hank our NYC lobbyist Elnantan Rudolph and I were having lunch with him and his chief of staff. We discussed the bills that affect our industry but his response was key; he wanted to know how Wal-mart gained access to the NYSBD and was dumbfounded as to why the department would agree to unlicensed check cashing. We now have an open door at the Governor’s office and also with the Democratic leader.

As I mentioned earlier we will fill 11 seats this evening. It will be a contested election which is a positive sign that members want to be involved actively. I encourage that you as directors choose wisely and also promote being on the Board to other members as well as membership to non-members.

Because of so many pressing issues I will call for a pre-budget meeting earlier this year so we can ascertain our exact financial position for both “09 and moving forward. Should you choose to be on this committee please inform either Hank or I.

Last week I called a meeting that included the executive board, professional staff and past Presidents to discuss the 60 day strategy template in order to present to the board. Several hours of discussion went by and it was quite obvious that 2010 will be nothing less than a challenge both financially, operationally and legislatively for the industry and association.

This brought up the discussion of PAC contributions by Board members a group that when leading by example will force other members to fall inline. You should have received a letter written by former President Jim Eustace on PAC contributions by board members. I will open this up for discussion under new business. However my stance is as follows , this board representing close to 1/3 of all licensed locations should make it a priority to not only be actively involved in industry issues but should support those who support this industry. I have made this the priority of my address to members this evening. There is too much riding on the legislative table for next year. Pieces that will not simply hinder our industry but destroy it! Take that into consideration when deciding upon the amount of your contributions.

Public Relations

I first like to begin by wishing a speedy recovery for Steve Altobelli of MWW. You all know Steve as a key person in putting together our press releases and newsletter. Steve also is an integral part of our NYC PR outreach. Steve had to have an emergency appendectomy a few weeks ago.

This summer through our City Council relations we met with Senator John Sampson, Democratic leader of the NY senate. We discussed with the Sen. the Program bill and its affects. It didn’t take long for the Sen. to grip the affects of such a bill. He questioned where it came from and was interested in finding out.

As the new NYCHA commissioner takes his position we will look to meet with him this fall to address the current authorized payment centers. Also on our agenda is getting PVB back on and muni-meter prepaid card sales, many of you may have noticed muni’s being installed now in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Thank you.

Jason Carballo, President

May 11, 2009 General Meeting & Vendor Show

Good Morning:

I would like to begin by thanking all of you attending for your support of the Financial Service Centers of New York. As I have stated before this associations success is dependent on not only membership dues but the voluntary hard work and effort that we as an industry put into it.

The result of our hard work and effort was most noticeable in our Albany Blitz this past April. As we introduced ourselves to members of both the State Senate and Assembly the response from key leaders was as follows:

• We know who you are
• We recognize the important role that you play in the communities that you serve
• And we appreciate your efforts in financial education as well as your scholarship program.

As we described to legislators our menu of products, many were taken back by our innovative approach. There was a definite appreciation for several key pieces including our Net-spend savings program and Credit Union Point of Banking.

Clearly by addressing our customers in matching our menu of services to their needs we can prosper as Financial Service Centers but the social return is much greater when we engage ourselves in community focused products.

It goes without saying our most important discussion was the New York State Banking Department’s bill. As you are aware this bill would allow for both a regulated and non-regulated check cashing industry in New York State. The ramifications of such a bill passing would have catastrophic effect on the industry and we expressed our objections.

Though there is still much to be concerned about with respect to the bill we left Albany confident that our state lawmakers agreed that allowing bodegas, hardware and big box stores to cash checks without consumer protection or Banking Department regulation is both a bad deal for their constituents as well the licensed check cashing industry!

As successful as our Albany Blitz was our outreach efforts will not cease. I described in our most recent quarterly newsletter that we have begun to meet with members of the New York City Council. I believe the efforts of meeting with council members are just as important as meeting with State Leaders! Along with a formal and accurate introduction of our industry a myriad of topics discussed range from the reduction of NYCHA Payment Centers and termination of Parking Violation Bureau payment acceptance in 2004.

I am hopeful that forging relationships at a City level will not only accurately represent who we are as an industry but may even lead to potential joint initiatives among FSC’s and the City of New York.

This association representing 192 corporations & 5,000 employees who service hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers must continue a pro-active approach and refrain from simply reacting when an issue arises. As we have begun meetings with City Council Members from Brooklyn to the Bronx we will call on you the operators in the council member’s district to open your doors and actively engage yourselves with the community leaders. As neighborhood financial centers we are the focal point for many communities and we should work hand in hand with district and state leaders to assist communities with the issues that are effecting so many people in the areas we serve. Look to get involved in everything from immigration, free health care assistance and even youth based initiatives.

Having said that FSCNY should consider developing a mission statement; consider the following:

• To serve as neighborhood financial services centers with a commitment in assisting with fair and transparent financial products and transaction as well as create social and economic opportunities for the communities we serve!

As I convey to you the pertinent issues that your association has undertaken I trust that you recognize the importance of such actions and initiatives for both single store operators and multi-chain companies.

Recently I had contacted a single store operator to thank them for their contribution to our PAC fund. This operator was not a member and stated their reason for not joining was because of their company size. Though thankful for their contribution I couldn’t disagree more with their reason for not being a member. How else could that operator receive legal, lobbying and public relationship representation?

Whether we at FSCNY are addressing zoning restrictions in Hempstead or a big box store who wants to circumvent the licensing procedure to cash checks in upstate New York the single or multi-store operator can rest assure that they have proper representation.

In closing I would like to sincerely thank the professional staff for their hard work and effort. The past six months has not been an easy period. I particularly would like to extend my gratitude to our General Counsel. Though I have been an ardent critic in the past I must convey to the membership we have some of the in best individuals working on our behalf. They take pride in representing this association and it shows in their dedication and work ethic. So thank you Jerry, Ed & Roman. Though our fight isn’t over I am a confident that this industry will not only overcome its latest challenge but we will continue as the licensed finical centers of choice for all New Yorker for another 65 years!

Once again thank you all and enjoy the vendors show!