Zentropy Partners Develops Customer-Centric Web Site for Fleet Credit Card Services

Business Wire, August 8, 2000

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2000

Zentropy Partners, a worldwide digital consulting and development company affiliated with The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG), designed and developed the newly launched Fleet Credit Card Services' (FCCS) Web site, giving FCCS customers complete online access to their financial information.

"By integrating our knowledge of FCCS's customers with our consulting expertise in the finance and banking industries, we created a customer-focused site that empowers consumers to learn more about banking and finances in order to make better and more educated financial decisions in their lives," said John Connors III, chief executive officer of Zentropy Partners.

The site (cards.fleet.com) encourages FCCS customers to learn more about their credit choices and take control of their personal finances online. One way it offers Fleet cardmembers and prospective applicants control is by giving them access to check current and past account information, as well as providing the ability to set transaction level alerts.

The online account management system allows customers to manage personal profiles, perform balance transfers and request credit line increases. The interactive components include credit card education, as well as special discounts while shopping online. Prospective cardmembers also can apply for credit cards on the site, receive an answer and potentially begin shopping online in seconds.

"We selected Zentropy Partners because its design methodology focuses on the customer experience and for its award-winning graphic design expertise. The company has proven to be extremely flexible and adept at enabling our traditional service for e-business," said Jay Lee, senior vice president of FCCS's E-Business Group. "Zentropy Partners grasped Fleet Credit Card Services' business goals and quickly turned around a robust credit portal with a functional, customer-friendly interface."

About Zentropy Partners

Zentropy Partners (www.zentropypartners.com) works with national and global Fortune 1000 and dot-com companies to conceive, build and market digital businesses. Its services include business, Web site development, online marketing and customer relationship management.

The company has headquarters in Cambridge, and has domestic offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Miami and St. Louis, and international offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Lyon, Paris, Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and Toronto. Zentropy Partners' clients include General Motors, Microsoft, Nautica Brands, Unilever, Brooks Brothers, The Coca-Cola Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Reebok International.

Zentropy is affiliated with The Interpublic Group of Companies. IPG's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IPG); more information is available on the company's Web site at www.interpublic.com.

About Fleet Credit Card Services and FleetBoston Financial

Fleet Credit Card Services has headquarters north of Philadelphia in Horsham, Pa. Named "Issuer of the Year" by Credit Card Management magazine in 1999, FCCS provides consumer credit cards, credit products and related services throughout the United States. With more than 8 million accounts and more than $14 billion in managed receivables, Fleet Credit Card Services is the eighth largest Visa/MasterCard issuer in the nation. FCCS is wholly owned by FleetBoston Financial Corp.

FleetBoston Financial is the eighth-largest financial holding company in the United States. A $181 billion diversified financial services company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers in more than 20 countries and territories.

Among the company's key lines of business are: retail banking, with over 1,250 branches and over 3,400 ATMs in the Northeast; commercial banking, including capital markets/investment banking and commercial finance; investment services, including discount brokerage; and full-service banking through more than 250 offices in Latin America. FleetBoston Financial has headquarters in Boston and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:FBF) and the Boston Stock Exchange (BSE:FBF).