Ariat Decreases Global Footwear Purchasing Processing Costs with TradeCard; Financial Supply Chain Automation Helps Ariat Manage Rapid Growth.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003

TradeCard Inc., the end-to-end financial supply chain service provider, announced today that California-based Ariat International, a leading manufacturer of innovative performance equestrian and casual footwear and apparel, has selected TradeCard's financial supply chain services to optimize the financial processes in its purchasing transactions with global suppliers.

Ariat, a $65M company distributing its products in over 3,000 retail outlets around the world, has already integrated its existing ERP system with the TradeCard Platform and run part of its global purchasing transactions through the TradeCard Platform over the past six months resulting in a reduction of processing costs by over 40%.

As a rapidly growing company, Ariat faced difficulties in effectively managing the huge number of paper documents generated through its global buying operations and was looking for a way to automate manual reconciliation and payment processing. With TradeCard, Ariat found a solution that not only allowed the company to electronically manage all documents and consolidate disjointed data into a single repository for management reporting but also offered value-added financial services such as credit protection and financing in an automated environment.

"Disjointed payment and shipment data and delayed visibility into critical transaction data, made it difficult to effectively manage cash flow," said Jeroen Noordermeer, Chief Financial Officer, Ariat International. "TradeCard allows us and our trading partners for the first time to have real-time insight into the transaction chain from order through settlement so we know exactly when payment is going out and our suppliers know when to expect payment, improving both our cash-flow management and trading partner relationships at the same time."

"Ariat needed an easy-to-implement solution with immediate ROI in order to manage the company's rapid growth and decided that TradeCard's proven and innovative service could best help them quickly reach their immediate objectives;" commented Kurt Cavano, Chairman and CEO, TradeCard Inc. "TradeCard's open network strategy allows fast roll-out of all trading partners giving Ariat the transparency and efficiency it needs across its global operations."

About TradeCard

TradeCard is the only end-to-end financial supply chain service provider that enables transparent commerce among global trade partners over an open, secure and neutral network. For the first time, buyers and sellers can manage transaction workflow with complete visibility into purchasing and financial transactions, from order to settlement, resulting in optimized cash flow and credit lines.

With TradeCard, global trading partners can realize unprecedented value from the financial supply chain including immediate cost savings, improved partner relationships and shortened trade cycles. TradeCard offers the most expansive network of extended trade services including export and vendor financing, payment assurance, money movement and inspection. This range of offerings makes TradeCard a proven alternative to traditional paper-based, expensive and labor-intensive trade settlement methods. Headquartered in New York City, TradeCard, Inc. has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. TradeCard is a registered trademark in the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. TradeCard is located online at www.tradecard.com.

About Ariat

Ariat International is a leading manufacturer of innovative performance equestrian and casual footwear and apparel. Ariat products are sold in a network of retail outlets around the world. For more information about the Ariat products or for the Ariat retailer nearest you visit them on-line at www.ariat.com.

This press release contains a number of matters that constitute forward-looking statements. The presentation reflects the current views of TradeCard's management with respect to future events and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements.