Call Center Brings Jobs Into Aiken; Card transaction business to open early next year
By Damon Cline | Business Editor
A company that helps small businesses process credit and debit card transactions announced Thursday that it will hire as many as 100 people to staff its new customer service center in Aiken.
Atlanta-based Veracity Payment Solutions intends to begin operations inside the long-vacant Belk department store building in Kalmia Plaza during the first quarter of 2008.
"Management is in place," said Stephanie Sharp, Veracity's chief financial officer. "We're just about to start hiring."
The company conducted a job fair earlier this year in Aiken and Edgefield counties as part of its labor market analysis.
The facility, which represents a $3 million investment, will handle customer service calls from the company's small- to midsize business customers and make sales calls to prospective clients.
Entry-level wages are expected to be $10 to $16 an hour for customer service representatives. Customer service managers are expected to earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year, while Information Technology Managers can earn $80,000 to $90,000 a year.
Veracity will start in about one-third of the building's space, about 13,000 square feet, with intentions to occupy the entire building over time. The company said Aiken's emerging retirement population and educational facilities were a factor in deciding to come there.
The company's workers will be trained through the state's readySC training program.
Thursday's announcement was made jointly by the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of Aiken and Edgefield Counties.
"The service sector is the fastest growing segment of our local economy. Veracity continues this trend," John Troutman, the chairman of the development partnership, said in a statement. "They will provide well-paid, skilled jobs that will further diversify our employment base."
Veracity specializes in electronic and paper check transaction processing and funds transfers for small businesses such as retail stores and restaurants.
It is a startup company, but its top management has previous industry experience, including Chairman Edward Grzedzinski, the former
chairman and chief executive officer of NOVA Information Systems. NOVA became the fourth-largest merchant payment processor in the
United States before merging with US Bancorp in 2001.
Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3486 or damon.cline@augustachronicle.com.
TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTERS* 2. UPS Customhouse Brokerage Inc., home brokerage support, 452 jobs, Aiken Source: Development Authority of Richmond County |
