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First Cash Financial Services, a provider of specialty consumer financial services and related retail products, has reportedly selected AT&T (News - Alert) to provide domestic and international network services.

Under the terms of the three-year, $7 million contract, AT&T is providing Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to nearly 250 First Cash retail locations in the United States, via its Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based Frame Relay/ATM network. Additionally, the network will enable First Cash to connect its nearly 190 retail locations in Mexico to its locations in the U.S. Mexico is a relatively new market for the company -- and it expects to realize considerable growth in the region over the next few years.

Doug Orr, executive vice president and chief financial officer, First Cash Financial Services, said the company selected AT&T not only because it offered a secure and reliable network solution, but also because it operates a network with a global footprint.

"AT&T brought its expertise to the table, along with a flexible solution that could cater directly to our needs as they change with customer demand," Orr said in a press release.

With AT&T’s MPLS-based solution, First Cash will gain a flexible foundation on which to build new applications and bandwidth. Importantly, it will have the network scalability it needs in order to handle future growth. First Cash’s growth strategy is based on the aggressive expansion of new stores and products in Mexico -- and as the market for these services evolves, it will be able to meet demand by mirroring the changes in its data network. The new network will be used for all communications between First Cash’s central offices and its retail locations.

Another benefit of going with AT&T’s solution is business continuity. In the event that a point of entry is unavailable, First Cash stores will have a second connection to the network available at all times. This level of redundancy means First Cash will have another option for managing the data flow from its stores to the data center. Thus, the company will have the benefit of being able to balance data loads during peak times in order to ensure network efficiency while relying on two points of entry into the network.

First Cash operates a chain of pawn stores which make small loans secured by pledged personal property. The company also has retail operations offering a wide variety of jewelry, electronics, tools and other merchandise. In many locations it offers short-term loans and other credit services, including check-cashing.

First Cash also operates automobile dealerships focused on the "buy-here/pay-here" segment of the used-vehicle retail market. In total, the company owns and operates over 460 stores and buy-here/pay-here dealerships in the U.S. and Mexico. The company is also an equal partner in Cash & Go, Ltd., a joint venture, which owns and operates 39 check-cashing and financial services kiosks located inside convenience stores.

For more information about AT&T visit www.att.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Assignment Editor for TMCnet and Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.

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