InterCept Announces Agreements to Acquire Internet Billing Company, Ltd. and Electronic Payment Exchange, Inc

Business Wire, March 20, 2002

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

NORCROSS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2002

Launches Major Expansion in Merchant Processing;

Annual Transaction Volume to Increase to More Than $6 Billion

InterCept, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICPT), a leading provider of banking technology products and services for community financial institutions, today announced a major expansion in its merchant processing operations.

InterCept has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Internet Billing Company, Ltd. (iBill), a Ft. Lauderdale-based provider of transaction processing for Web merchants. Separately, InterCept also signed a binding letter agreement to acquire Electronic Payment Exchange, Inc. (EPX), an end-to-end provider of transaction processing services based in New Castle, Delaware.

John W. Collins, InterCept's CEO, stated, "Since 1996, we have provided merchant portfolio management services to community bank customers. However, our role has been limited to serving as the middleman for our bank customer and the payment processing companies. The acquisitions of iBill and EPX will enable InterCept to become a full-service provider of end-to-end credit card processing solutions for multiple sales channels - Internet, point of sale, call center, mail order and wireless channels. iBill and EPX fit perfectly into our plan to grow our company through strategic acquisitions of businesses that add large volumes of customers, provide recurring revenue and offer strong growth opportunities."

Commenting on the acquisition, Garrett M. Bender, iBill's President and CEO, stated, "iBill's turnkey e-commerce solution is designed specifically for online merchants. Our goal is to reduce the costs and risks for merchants who do business online, whether they are small Internet merchants or online divisions of global merchants. Currently, we process approximately $450 million in annual transaction volume. By partnering with InterCept and EPX, we will now be able to offer merchants a multi-channel solution to complement their online business." Raymond Moyer, EPX's President and CEO, stated, "EPX offers a single source for payment solutions, eliminating the need for businesses to establish multiple relationships with banks, front-end system providers, gateways, independent sales organizations and back-end processing companies. Presently, we process approximately $5 billion in annual transaction volume. We believe the combination of our payment processing solution, InterCept's financial strength and iBill's sales and marketing expertise will enable us to meet the demands of all types of merchants of any size."

Commenting on the synergies provided by EPX and iBill, Mr. Collins said, "Our goal is to provide community financial institutions with the technology solutions necessary for them to remain competitive. Presently, our merchant processing division provides services to approximately 160 community banks with over $1 billion in transaction volume. The addition of iBill and EPX to our merchant processing division will enable us to provide our community financial institution customers with a transaction processing solution that they can offer to their customers at competitive rates, enabling them to further solidify their relationship with their local merchants."

Mr. Collins added, "Together, InterCept, iBill and EPX will offer a full-service, end-to-end transaction processing solution for both traditional `brick and mortar' companies and online merchants. By adding the advanced payment solutions offered by iBill and EPX to our existing merchant processing division, we believe InterCept can become a market leader in transaction processing."

InterCept believes the iBill and EPX transactions together will contribute additional revenues of approximately $49-$52 million and EBITDA of approximately $9-$10 million for the remainder of 2002, and $92-$94 million in revenues and $22-$24 million in EBITDA in 2003. Additionally, InterCept believes this transaction will add $0.01-$0.02 to its earnings per share for the remainder of 2002 and will add $0.08-$0.10 to 2003 earnings per share.

Robertson Stephens acted as exclusive financial advisor to InterCept in connection with the acquisition of iBill. Credit Suisse First Boston acted as financial advisor for InterCept's acquisition of EPX.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

InterCept has scheduled a conference call to discuss these transactions at 10:00 AM EST on Wednesday, March 20, 2002. InterCept will also provide an online Web simulcast and rebroadcast of the call. Live broadcast of the call will be available online at www.intercept.net.

To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. An online replay of the call will be available shortly after it ends and will continue to be available through April 20, 2002.

About iBill

iBill provides secure transaction services that enable Web merchants to accept and process real-time payments for goods and services purchased over the Internet. It also manages all back-office functions including reporting, tracking, customer service and sales transactions. The company's service is powered by proprietary technology that integrates online payment processing, fraud control, affiliate management and financial reporting and tracking. For more information about iBill, go to www.iBill.com.