CUShopper Reaches Milestone by Signing 1,000th Credit Union.

E-Commerce, Internet and Retailing Writers

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2000

Rapid Growth of Business Represents 18 Million Credit Union Consumers

The millennium has arrived again. Only this time, the focus is not on potential computer problems but on computer-oriented success. CUShopper, an on and off-line service available to credit union members nationwide at http://www.cushopper.com, offers credit union financing for big-ticket items it offers over the Internet and via direct marketing. The company announced today that it has signed its 1,000th credit union partner, Detroit Federal Employees Credit Union (DFECU), of Southfield, Michigan, to be a part of its nationwide network.

"This is a momentous occasion for our company and a testament in our ability to deliver high-quality, low-cost financing to a wide range of consumers," said Adam Wicks Walker, Chairman and CEO of the Burbank-based Company. "It is a milestone we had not anticipated reaching for quite some time. We are very proud of the hard work our staff has devoted to reaching this level and to the credit unions themselves."

Launched in August 1997, CUShopper utilizes the lower financing rates offered by credit unions to enable consumers to purchase high-priced goods such as computers, electronics and jewelry. The company will soon be adding automobiles and vacation packages to its product line.

Credit unions offer finance rates around 10 percent on average, roughly half that of the average credit card rate. There are a number of credit unions to which family members and individuals can belong, from veterans' organizations to teacher and business groups.

"We see CUShopper as a value-added service for our members," said Pat Patton, Marketing Manager for Detroit Federal Employees Credit Union, a full-service credit union that has 26,000 members and assets of more than $101 million. "More importantly, it helps us in our continuing efforts to provide members with a community-based portal rather than just another web site. The ability to purchase items online through CUShopper will help attract them to our site and extend our services to members."

With the strong economy driving consumer spending, CUShopper is experiencing explosive growth. Since early 1999, it has gone from 12 employees to 180 currently. In the past few months, CUShopper has added on average more than 70 new credit unions per week. As a result, CUShopper has quickly outgrown its existing office space and is currently preparing for a move to a much larger facility in mid-May. Still, the goals for the company are even higher.

"There are about 11,000 credit unions nationwide that represent a total of 78 million members," Walker said. "And we would like them all to be a part of the CUShopper network."

CUShopper is a member of the credit union community and is backed by the latest e-commerce security measures. It is co-founded by Walker and William Widmaier and has an impressive list of financial partners, including JH Whitney; former Ingram Micro president, COO and co-chairman David Dukes; CB/Koll Corp. board member and former president Glen Raiger; and EarthLink founder Sky Dayton.

About CUShopper

CUShopper is The Credit Union Member's Shopping Network. CUShopper creates point-of-sale opportunity for credit unions across popular product categories that leverage the core value of credit unions - lower interest financing. CUShopper creates a retail environment, both on-line and off-line, that allows credit unions and members to participate in the leading delivery system for financing.

CUShopper.com displays each participating credit union's logo, rates, terms and more, providing a customized on-line shopping and commerce environment appropriate to each membership group. As features such as on-line classifieds and auctions are added to CUShopper.com, the service will fully enable credit unions with robust and industry-defining eCommerce tools.

CUShopper delivers each credit union's financing with product orders, now available with instant loan approval, allowing members to shop and take advantage of credit union financing within the same transaction.