CertCo, Inc. to Launch Risk Management Exchange for Online B2B Exchanges.

Business/Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2000

Company Introduces CertCo RMX in Alliance with Deutsche Bank, KPMG 

and Others; Will Help Drive Liquidity to Online Exchanges

CertCo, Inc., the leading provider of risk management and security solutions for B2B e-commerce, today introduced the world's first comprehensive risk management exchange solution that will be offered through online B2B exchanges to their users. The CertCo RMX(TM) will effectively remove the "last hurdle" in B2B e-commerce - the risk of doing business with a new or previously unknown trading partner.

How the CertCo RMX Works

When conducting business on an online exchange that employs the CertCo RMX, a buyer or seller will be able to request specific business, company or credit information, trade finance advisory services and transaction insurance with the click of a mouse. Requests will then be forwarded quickly and seamlessly from the exchange to the CertCo RMX, and then to the appropriate risk service provider. The requested information or service will then be securely transmitted back to the trade participant through the CertCo RMX and the online exchange.

The CertCo RMX will provide a full suite of risk management and security solutions, including:

- In-depth reports, credit analysis and credit scoring for

public and private companies worldwide;

- Transaction insurance;

- Trade finance advisory services from Deutsche Bank;

- Financial and business information offered by Media General

Financial Services for all public companies in the United

States and Canada;

- Access to the SEC's EDGAR Database; and

- CertCo's patented public key infrastructure (PKI) services,

including digital signing, real-time certificate validation

and transactional insurance.

With a single XML interface, the CertCo RMX will minimize the effort required by online exchanges to provide these services, freeing them to focus on their core business objectives and helping them achieve liquidity by attracting and retaining users. The CertCo RMX service will fulfill the requirement of trading partners to manage the risks associated with online trading, thus eliminating a significant obstacle to the widespread adoption of online B2B trade.

"Exponential growth is predicted among online exchanges over the next several years," said J. Douglas Graham, managing director at KPMG Electronic Commerce, one of CertCo's key integration partners and a leading consultant to online exchanges. "To achieve this potential volume, exchanges must offer their users a secure online trading environment. The CertCo RMX will help drive the growth of online B2B transactions by enabling exchanges to alleviate their users' concerns about the security of the trading environment and the credibility, performance and settlement of their transactions."

CertCo has built strategic alliances with leading business and credit information, financial services and insurance providers to offer a full suite of plug-and-play services to online exchanges. Initially, the CertCo RMX will offer the risk services of Deutsche Bank and Media General Financial Services along with CertCo's own patented digital signature solution. Users of the CertCo RMX also will have access to the SEC's EDGAR Database, and services from additional risk service providers will be incorporated on an ongoing basis. The CertCo RMX service, which will officially launch next month, will be delivered to online exchanges via an application service provider (ASP) model.

"As global trade migrates to the Internet, companies are streamlining how they do business," said Paul Simpson, managing director of Global Bank Export Services at Deutsche Bank. "Deutsche Bank looks forward to working with CertCo to offer comprehensive trade advisory services to customers worldwide."

For the first time, the CertCo RMX will enable customers of online exchanges to manage the risks associated with conducting high-value business transactions via the Internet. The CertCo RMX will provide the first risk management infrastructure that will allow businesses to authenticate buyers' and sellers' identities and credit worthiness, verify purchasing authority and insure their transactions, all within an online exchange. By providing all these capabilities in a single package, the CertCo RMX will allow exchanges to enable their users to seamlessly conduct online transactions in real-time. Currently, once buyers and sellers agree to the terms of a deal, they are forced to work offline to perform the majority of these tasks.

"With the recent signing of the E-Signature Act, we expect that a growing number of companies will expand their potential customer base by turning to online exchanges to conduct transactions," said June Felix, chairman, CEO and president of CertCo, Inc. "Buyers and sellers need to address a host of risk and trust issues when trading via the Internet, because they often are doing business 'blindly' - with parties they've never done business with before. The CertCo RMX service will incorporate a full spectrum of credit, financing and insurance services that lessen the risk of online transactions and increase trust between online trading partners."

About CertCo(R), Inc.

Founded in 1996, CertCo, Inc. is a leading provider of security and risk management infrastructure solutions for B2B e-commerce. CertCo provides corporations, financial institutions, online B2B exchanges and governments with business solutions that enable them to safely conduct global, high-value transactions over open networks - effectively removing the "last hurdle" in end-to-end B2B e-commerce. The company offers a full suite of risk management and security services that leverage its thorough understanding and experience with business process, legal, technology and cryptography issues, as well as its deep and long-standing relationships with insurance and financial services providers. Based in New York and privately held, CertCo also operates a research and development office in Cambridge, Mass. More information on the company can be found at www.certco.com.

Copyright (c) 2000 CertCo, Inc., 55 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 U.S.A. All rights reserved. CertCo, its logo, CertCo RMX, CertAuthority, CertValidator, Multi-Step Signing and/or other CertCo products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of CertCo Inc. All other company and/or product names are the property of their respective owners.