Hypercom Joins with Banco del Istmo to Streamline Credit Card Transactions in Panama

Business Wire, August 18, 1998

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 1998--Jairo E. Gonzalez, President of Hypercom International today announced that Banco del Istmo is deploying Hypercom's Ascendent(tm) Advanced Transaction Processor (ATP) throughout Panama. Banco del Istmo is the second largest private sector bank in Panama and maintains the country's most extensive network of retail banking outlets. Hypercom(R) is a global provider of electronic payment solutions. Hypercom's Ascendent ATP software is a high-performance authorization server that allows users to quickly and reliably process transactions without replacing their existing transaction infrastructure investment.

The deployment is expected to be completed within the next 30 days. At that time, the Hypercom solution will support Banco del Istmo's entire terminal population as well as the electronic cash registers of its largest customers, and expedite more than three million transactions annually.

"We are very pleased to join Banco del Istmo in its efforts to streamline credit card transactions in Panama," Mr. Gonzalez said. "The endorsement of this leading Panamanian financial institution further demonstrates the advantages of Hypercom's solutions."

Hypercom's Ascendent ATP software combines standard electronic authorization methods with modular and specialized features to maximize options and streamline the entire transaction processing function.

The Hypercom solution will enable Banco del Istmo to accelerate point-of-sale processing of Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit card transactions without costly changes to existing information systems, according to Raul Jimenez, senior vice president, Banco del Istmo.

"As a leader in Panama's competitive banking market, it is essential that Banco del Istmo be on the cutting-edge when it comes to meeting and exceeding the credit card processing needs of our merchants," Mr. Jimenez stated. "Hypercom's Ascendent ATP allows us to do just that with its open, scalable architecture and remarkably innovative and cost-effective solution."

Hypercom's Ascendent ATP provides a multi-tier client/server model that moves the application processing to a centralized server that supports the entire terminal population without requiring any changes to the legacy host mainframe.

"Ascendent by Hypercom provides an adaptive layer for host legacy systems that allows financial transaction companies to quickly and easily support new functions and payment modes without replacing their existing transaction infrastructure investments," said Theodore (Ted) F. Cole, Senior Vice President, Hypercom Ascendent Software Products Group. "Ascendent exemplifies Hypercom's continuing heritage of providing industry leadership with innovative solutions, and we are very pleased to make Ascendent ATP available to Banco del Istmo."

After capturing transaction data at the retail location using the ISO 8583 message format, the Hypercom Ascendent ATP routes core information via a Hypercom IEN 5000 switch/router over a leased line to Telered for debit transactions and to Visa, Mastercard and American Express for credit authorizations.

Hypercom's Ascendent ATP is an important member of Ascendent software's complete family of front-end client/server software solutions for payment processing and data transactions that is quickly setting new industry standards and the migration path for discriminating customers.

Ascendent's operating system independence supports UNIX, Microsoft Windows NT and Sun Solaris, and allows transaction processors to preserve host integrity while adding more applications and transaction types. This approach enables merchants and banks to offer advanced payment products, such as chip cards, and value-added services, such as loyalty programs.

Hypercom's Ascendent transaction software serves as an "adaptive layer" by working in concert with legacy mainframe systems. Ascendent software is scalable, interoperable and fault-tolerant. The multi-tier architecture of Hypercom's Ascendent software supports high performance with current and emerging payment methods, including debit, credit, smart cards and Internet-based commerce.

Banco del Istmo is Panama's second-largest private commercial sector bank with total assets of more than US$1.2 billion. Headquartered in Panama City, Banco del Istmo maintains the most extensive network of retail banking outlets in Panama. This network includes 27 full-service branches and agencies located in 14 cities and towns nationwide, including 15 branches in the Panama City metropolitan area.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Hypercom Corporation (NYSE:HYC) is a global provider of electronic payment solutions, including multi-functional point-of-sale terminals, peripherals, network products, transaction software, Internet-based and electronic commerce payment solutions. On a global basis Hypercom delivers the services and technology infrastructure required to quickly integrate and deploy new payment applications for competitive value-add programs, improved business performance and low total cost of ownership.