“First Capital Index” by First Capital Business Solutions Proprietary

Strategic Document Compiles Credit Card Processing Data to Measure Economic Trends.
First Capital Index Helps to Inform Strategic Business Decisions and Local Investment.

First Capital Business Solutions has released the “First Capital Index,” a collection of indexes utilizing monthly credit card processing data across a wide range of businesses to measure economic trends in spending. Specifically, the Index measures growth or decline in business activity by business type and geography.

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The First Capital Index is divided into three business categories, including retail business, eating places, and service businesses, across four geographic areas – Center City, Northeast, Northwest, and South encompassing every zip code within Monroe County. The Index was created from a subset of more than $360 million in credit and debit card sales and more than 12 million transactions.

The Index specifically measures two pieces of data:

  1. Index Value: shows the growth or decline in credit card sales from the preceding month.
  2. Cumulative Index: shows growth or decline in sales since the beginning of the index.

First Capital Business Solutions maintains credit and debit card sales records for more than 120 Merchant Category Codes (MCC). First Capital supports credit card processing, Point-of-Sale solutions, as well as the funding and financing needs of hundreds of Upstate New York businesses, many in the Greater Rochester Region.

The First Capital Index, was developed by a team of merchant service and research professionals, including Hernandez, Sr.; Dr. James W. Maddison, Research Associate, Center for Popular Research, education and policy; Ken Signorelo, President, Results, Inc.; and Joseph Civiletti, Director of Accounting at First Capital Business Solutions. No personal information, beyond credit or debit card sales receipts were obtained in the preparation of this Index.

For more information about the methodology and other background on the First Capital Index or First Capital Business Solutions call 877.506.9746.

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