Citicorp Services Selected for Electronic Public Assistance Contract in Maryland

Business Wire, Jan 21, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 1999--Citicorp Services, the nation's largest provider of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems, announced today that it has been selected by the State of Maryland Department of Human Resources to provide EBT services in the state under a newly awarded contract. EBT is a means of delivering food stamp, welfare and other government benefits electronically, through the use of debit card technology. The state presently has an EBT system operated by another contractor, but re-bid the project in 1998 because the current contract expires in late 1999.

"This is a very important contract award for us," said Mark MacKenzie, President of Citicorp Services. "Maryland was one of the first states to adopt an EBT system, and the first to do so statewide."

Under the EBT program, benefit recipients are issued plastic debit cards that are used to purchase food and other goods through retailers' point-of-sale terminals and to withdraw cash amounts from automated teller machines. Since the Maryland program is already operational, Citicorp Services will work on transferring the state's EBT processing to its own system from the current contractor's system. The transfer should be completed in the fall of 1999.

Over 40 states are involved in some stage of EBT. Most of those states have operational EBT systems, though implementation work is continuing. Citicorp Services has been a pioneer in the EBT business since 1989, with awards covering programs in 29 states and similar projects in Argentina and Canada.

The company is a part of Citigroup's e-Citi unit, created in January 1997 to electronically deliver financial services to consumer, corporate and government customers. The e-Citi team provides Citigroup's customers with access to information, products and services, and is creating a suite of electronic products and services to meet customer needs in the evolving global economy. These solutions offer content, access and choice as Citigroup continues to create a distinctive, global, customer-driven, multi-purposed electronic experience.