Branded Prepaid Card Trade Association Announced; TSYS Prepaid Announces Intent to Form Trade Association to Promote Evolving Prepaid Card Market.

NEW YORK -- TSYS Prepaid, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS (NYSE: TSS), announced today that it is sponsoring the creation of an industry-wide prepaid card trade association. The trade association will help advance the rapidly evolving prepaid market, focusing primarily on branded cards using open networks such as Visa(R), MasterCard(R) as well as EFT and ATM networks.

TSYS Prepaid has contributed both financial and non-financial resources to establish the new association. Anil D. Aggarwal, chief executive officer of TSYS Prepaid, will lead the establishment and development of the new organization, which will be independent of TSYS Prepaid. The creation of the new trade association is supported by organizations throughout the industry.

"Our goal is to get the entire industry, including issuers, acquirers, processors, payment networks and associations, program sponsors, service providers, and other relevant parties to come together in this trade association," said Aggarwal. "While there will continue to be specific interests throughout the prepaid card industry, the marketplace will benefit substantially from a collective effort. We believe this organization will quickly become a trusted source of prepaid card subject matter expertise for the industry as well as third-parties, including the media."

The specific mission and scope of the association are currently being defined, and some objectives of the association will likely include:

--Creating greater awareness of branded prepaid cards and promoting their benefits throughout the value chain

--Helping members prosper in a changing business environment through education, networking, research, industry-feedback, and marketing services

--Promoting industry-wide standards and best practices

--Facilitating government and non-government action beneficial to the industry

--Anticipating and facilitating change that ensures the long-term viability of the industry

--Defining current market size and viable business cases

--Clearly defining the domain and players and establishing viable distribution chains

Industry leaders, whose experience and expertise is vital to the success of the association, have indicated their initial support. These leaders represent varied interests across the branded prepaid card spectrum.

"As a leading financial institution, we are actively involved in issuing branded prepaid cards," said Ronald C. Hynes, senior vice president, Prepaid Solutions, JPMorgan Chase. "This new trade association will help the industry navigate the evolving and ever changing business and regulatory environments."

"Prepaid cards represent the next step in expanding payment choices consumers want to simplify and streamline their lives," said Todd J. Brockman, senior vice president, Prepaid Products, Visa USA. "We believe Visa's participation in this organization will help aid in the long-term growth of the market to the benefit of our Member financial institutions, merchant partners and cardholders."

"As an issuer with a commitment to prepaid, we believe it is important that we collaborate with other leading organizations to grow the industry," said Brad Hanson, president, Meta Payment Systems. "We believe this association will be very beneficial in doing that and look forward to being a part of it."

"Nearly 10 years ago MasterCard introduced its first branded prepaid card. Today, through partnerships with more than 125 financial institutions, MasterCard offers a diverse multitude of prepaid programs to customers worldwide," said Ted Dargan, vice president, stored value team lead for the Americas, MasterCard International. "MasterCard welcomes continued collaboration amongst our industry's leaders and looks forward to helping drive the continued, unprecedented growth of the prepaid card industry."

"The Canadian market for prepaid cards is emerging and as we continue to explore our options, we believe that participation in the new trade association will allow us to better understand the industry," said Shelley Kirkbride, vice president, Product Development for Global Deposits and Payments, CIBC.

"We are excited about being part of an association that will provide relevant research and assist in establishing industry-wide standards," said Rick Gallagher, executive vice president, Strategic Business Development, Experian. "We look forward to contributing the benefit of our experience in this industry as well as learning from others."

"At Bank of America, we have tremendous experience with prepaid cards across many market segments and product applications," said Eduardo Vergara, senior vice president, prepaid card executive, Bank of America. "We believe that an industry group focused on prepaid cards can help bring together the common interests of a diverse group for the greater benefit of the industry."

"There are many entities involved in deploying prepaid card programs," said Sarah E. Grotta, senior vice president, national sales director, Key Consumer Payments, KeyBank USA. "The trade association can serve the industry well by helping better identify roles and responsibilities as well as value propositions for each of these organizations."

"Prepaid cards have applications in many industries, including healthcare," said Duane E. White, chief operating officer, Exante Financial Services, a UnitedHealth Group Company. "We are interested in exploring ways in which to improve information technology for this market and are excited about working with the prepaid card association."

"As payment cards are targeted to new markets, the industry faces many obstacles and opportunities for growth," said Craig Marshall, chief executive officer, UniRush Financial. "As an organization with early experience with prepaid programs, we look forward to working with others in our industry through this new association."

"We are thrilled about this industry-wide initiative, which we expect over the coming years will become invaluable to providers and users of prepaid card products and services," said Thomas A. Hayes, administrative vice president, Electronic Banking, M&T Bank. "We look forward to the association's formation, and are confident that Anil Aggarwal will lead this organization to success, based on his proven track record in the prepaid industry and entrepreneurial spirit."

"As an early entrant in the prepaid card industry, we have experienced the growth and evolution of the market," said Steve Streit, president and chief executive officer, Next Estate Communications. "We feel that the time is right for this association and that its formation will be enthusiastically received throughout our industry."

"We have spent almost 10 years developing electronic benefit payment systems critical to facilitating consumer driven healthcare," said Victoria J. Nipple, executive vice president, MBI. "We believe this new association can play an important role in continuing to ensure product adoption in the coming years."

"Prepaid cards have gained traction in recent years, but much progress remains to be made," said Ann Jackson, vice president, Market Development, MoneyGram International. "As established organizations continue to consider how these newer products impact their business, an industry trade association can serve as an important source of information."

"We are very excited to be involved with an influential group and expect to announce the support of other industry leaders in the coming months," said Aggarwal.

About TSYS Prepaid

TSYS Prepaid, a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS (www.tsys.com), is a leading provider of prepaid card solutions that utilize the Visa(R), MasterCard(R), EFT and ATM networks. These solutions are powered by a flexible proprietary processing platform specifically designed for the prepaid market.

TSYS Prepaid's solutions have been utilized by Fortune 500 companies, small and medium size enterprises and leading financial institutions, and have proven to be highly effective for numerous applications, including healthcare administration, payroll processing, claims processing, gift cards, corporate incentives, consumer promotions, teen payments and unbanked solutions.

TSYS Prepaid offers expert solution deployment services, from facilitating sponsoring bank and payment network approvals to transaction processing and program management. TSYS Prepaid provides turnkey solutions complete with online, real-time administration and reporting and other unique system features vital to the prepaid market.

TSYS Prepaid (www.tsysprepaid.com) is based in New York.