April 29, 2003
For Immediate Release

Electronic Payments Network (EPN) Announces Internet Access to ACH Processing Services

Breakthrough service makes ACH processing more accessible and flexible to financial institutions of all sizes. It's one of several value-added services at EPN.

The Electronic Payments Network (EPN) announced that Arizona FCU, TruWest FCU, First National Bank of Jeffersonville, Eastbank and Fort Lee Federal Savings Bank are now transmitting and receiving ACH transactions via EPN's new secure high-speed Internet connection. EPN is the only ACH Operator to offer ACH transaction processing services using a secure, flexible, reliable Internet access. The new service is available to financial institutions of all sizes and the response from the industry has been very positive.

"EPN is always looking for ways to make ACH processing easier and more efficient for our customers." said George Thomas, EPN President. "The best part of this service is that it fits seamlessly into a financial institution's existing ACH operations without any additional training or new hardware requirements. It's as easy as changing the connection from dial-up to network. Our customers can just load our Windows-based software - PCAIMS - on their PCs and connect to EPN through the Internet while maintaining the benefits of a distributed processing environment."

The new Internet access is a secure connection using the latest encryption and authentication techniques.

"One of our most popular products is EPN's Windows-based ACH processing software - PCAIMS. It's easy to use, and has all the functionality needed to manage ACH processing," said Rossana Salaris, Vice President of EPN Marketing. "In addition to Internet access, it includes a powerful tool that translates payment related information that is included with ACH transactions into electronic files or reports that can be easily distributed to a financial institution's business customers through a variety of transmission methods, including email."

Internet access and Windows-based tools are among the many features of the EPN system that make it more accessible and useful for its financial institutions. EPN is also a leader in ACH risk management.

With the introduction of WEB and TEL transactions for the ACH, managing risk is more critical than ever. EPN has a developed a new Early Warning Fraud Detection service that will identify instances of possible fraud and other network abuses. EPN is generating reports of originating companies that have excessive consumer and corporate unauthorized returns. The reports identify instances of possible fraud and alert the originating financial institution as quickly as possible.

Another groundbreaking innovation EPN has introduced is the Universal Payment Identification Code (UPIC), a unique identifier that masks a company's bank and bank account number. It can be used by companies that want to receive electronic payments, but are reluctant to share sensitive banking information with their trading partners. Since the UPIC reveals nothing about a company's banking relationship, it can be displayed on web sites and invoices with confidence.

To manage credit and settlement risk, EPN also has system controls that allow a financial institution to limit the total dollar value of credits that are originated on their behalf by third-party service providers or to control credit risk of financial institutions that they settle for. In addition, EPN's use of the Federal Reserve's National Net Settlement Service for settlement of ACH transactions accelerates finality of all debit and credit transactions with debit transactions achieving finality by as much as 24 hours earlier than FedACH.

"Our recent addition of Internet access underscores our commitment to our customers' ACH business," said Mr. Thomas. "More and more financial institutions are making the switch to EPN because we are customer-driven and we have a great track record of innovation and reliability."

About EPN

The Electronic Payments Network (www.epaynetwork.com) is the oldest and largest national private sector ACH operator in the United States. Its membership consists of over 1,240 commercial banks, credit unions and savings banks. EPN flawlessly processed over 1.9 billion transactions in 2002. As both an ACH association and ACH Operator, EPN's mission is to provide its customers with low-cost, innovative payment systems and superior support, as well as a forum through which financial institutions can promote common interests. The Electronic Payments Network is a leader in the electronic payments industry and is continually researching and developing new ACH product enhancements, including its latest innovations, the Universal Payment Identification Code (www.upic.com) and proactive early-warning fraud detection reports.