Midwest Payment Systems Chosen as New Service Provider for PULSE DSS Off-Line Debit Service

Business Wire, July 22, 1999

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 1999--

PULSE(R) EFT Association and Cincinnati-based Midwest Payment Systems ("MPS") today announced the selection of MPS as the vendor to perform off-line debit services for PULSE.

"Based on demonstrably superior performance, product offering and overall economic value, MPS represents the preferred solution to meet our members' needs," said Stan Paur, PULSE president and CEO.

In 1996, PULSE introduced its offering of PULSE Debit Support Service (PULSE(R) DSS), a new PULSE branded debit card authorization and support service for its member institutions. This service provides members with a single source, turnkey solution for all their debit product needs. PULSE DSS provides a broad range of debit card authorization and support services for the MasterMoney(tm) and Visa Check Card(R) products.

It is anticipated that in addition to supporting the features, functionality and operational processes of the current Visa Check and MasterMoney off-line debit service offered by PULSE, MPS will provide enhanced product features, functions and service levels.

"This means added benefits to those members who currently participate in PULSE DSS," Paur said. "There will be no material system changes for existing DSS customers and we expect that this new relationship will produce operational efficiencies and will result in a reduction in processing fees to our DSS clients," he noted.

"As a major network in the South and Central regions of the United States, PULSE significantly strengthens our position as a major provider of electronic processing services in that area," said Barry L. Boerstler, MPS executive vice president.

To facilitate the evaluation and selection of a vendor, PULSE distributed a detailed Request for Proposal ("RFP") to potential vendors last year. PULSE was assisted in the RFP process, evaluation and vendor selection by Paragon Data Services, L.L.C., of Dearborn, Mich.

"The ultimate decision arrived at by the staff and a committee of PULSE's directors was predicated on a variety of factors including service competency, program enhancement and cost," Paur said. "For the past five months, we have explored options relative to the PULSE DSS vendor selection project and we are very pleased to be working with Midwest Payment Systems as our new service provider.

"The strategic relationship between PULSE and MPS will be enhanced because the companies share many of the same fundamental business objectives," Paur said. "Both organizations are customer driven and strive to provide world class service to their customers at a low cost," he said.

PULSE DSS currently is switching more than 2 million off-line debit transactions per month for 43 financial institutions with nearly 310,000 cardholders. The association anticipates that more than 20 million PULSE DSS transactions will be processed in 1999.

PULSE is a not-for-profit, shared electronic funds transfer network comprised of more than 2,000 member banks, credit unions and thrifts in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The network features more than 43,000 ATMs and more than 186,000 PULSE PAY point-of-sale terminals.

MPS, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp, was ranked No. 1 EFT provider by Faulkner & Gray in 1998. MPS processes more than 2.9 billion ATM and POS transactions per year for more than 55,000 retail locations and financial institutions worldwide, including Federated Department Stores, The Kroger Co., Macy's and CompUSA.

Fifth Third is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati. The company, which is Y2K ready, has $31.6 billion in assets, operates 12 affiliated banks with 484 Banking Centers, including 106 Bank Mart(R) locations open seven days a week in select grocery stores and 1,188 Jeanie(R) ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Arizona and Michigan. Fifth Third's financial strength is recognized by rating agencies with deposit ratings of AA- and Aa2 and deposit ratings of A1+ and P1 from Standard & Poor's and Moody's, respectively.

Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Retail, Commercial, Investment Advisors and Midwest Payment Systems, the Bank's data processing subsidiary.

The company's common stock is traded in the over-the-counter market through the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "FITB".

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