American Payment Systems and BellSouth Corporation Reach Bill Payment Agreement

Business Wire, Sept 9, 2002

Business Editors

HAMDEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2002

American Payment Systems, a business unit of UIL Holdings (NYSE: UIL) announced today that it has reached an agreement with the services unit of BellSouth Corporation to assume the management of BellSouth's network of walk-in bill payment outlets.

BellSouth currently contracts with more than 500 independent retailers in its nine state territory to collect approximately 30 million bill payments from consumers and small business customers each year. American Payment Systems (APS) operates the largest US network of walk-in bill payment locations, contracting with more than 10,000 retailers in 47 states and collecting more than 100 million bills each year on behalf of utilities, telecommunications companies, and other businesses who regularly receive bill payments from consumers.

Paul Rocheleau, President of APS said "Our contract will offer BellSouth immediate savings due to economies of scale, while continuing to provide a high level of service to BellSouth customers. We look forward to working with the many retailers who currently accept bill payments on BellSouth's behalf." Under the agreement APS will replace BellSouth's bill payment terminals at retailers with APS equipment and manage transaction processing through its Hamden data center.

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"We're pleased to have this opportunity to expand our payment agent network to more than 70% of the US metropolitan population," said Corey Stone, Executive Vice President of APS. "Because of our relationships with a wide variety of billers, we will offer BellSouth customers the opportunity to make other bill payments at the same convenient locations where they pay their BellSouth bills. Moreover, the range of services we can deliver--including prepaid wireless services and our stored value MasterCard card--will generate additional foot traffic and fee revenue for these retailers," said Stone.

About American Payment Systems

American Payment Systems (APS) is a wholly owned business unit of UIL Holdings Corporation (UIL). Founded in 1990, APS is an innovator in bill payment and related financial services offered through retailers. In 2000 APS acquired QuickPay! which allows agents to accept non-contracted bill payments for hundreds of billers such as Sears, AT&T, ExxonMobil, Ameritech and The Gap. In 2001, APS purchased a majority ownership of Cell Cards, a leading distributor of prepaid telephone services. In early 2002, APS Card Services Inc (CSI) launched ACCESS by QuickPay! a prepaid MasterCard(R) card as a cash alternative.