Community West Bancshares Signs E-Commerce Agreement With ACE Cash Express Inc.

GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1999--

Community West Bancshares (Nasdaq:CWBC), a technology and financial services company, announced that its subsidiary, Goleta National Bank, has signed an agreement with ACE Cash Express Inc. (Nasdaq:AACE), the nation's largest check-cashing chain and a significant provider of related retail financial services, to offer short-term consumer loans throughout the ACE store network.

The product will be delivered utilizing software developed by Community West's e-commerce subsidiary, Electronic Paycheck LLC.

Loan applications will be taken at each ACE location and submitted online for review and approval by Goleta National Bank. Consumers can access their funds utilizing the pay-card system developed by Electronic Paycheck. They will be able to use the cards at ATMs or ACE locations.

In addition, the pay cards may be used at any retail location that accepts debit cards, through networks such as Star and Interlink. Future product offerings by ACE utilizing the Electronic Paycheck software platform may include direct deposit, prepaid ATM cards, debit cards and Internet cards.

Lew Stone, president and chief executive officer of Community West Bancshares, said, "This is an excellent opportunity to combine our e-commerce technology along with our national lending capabilities in an entirely new arena."

ACE and Goleta National Bank plan to begin testing this product in December and introduce the service in ACE stores beginning the first quarter of 2000.

"We are very pleased about this innovative product," said Donald H. Neustadt, president and CEO of ACE. "This service is a new direction for our current product mix and will allow us to offer short-term loans in all ACE locations. In addition, our customers will have greater convenience and immediate electronic access to their cash."

The Electronic Paycheck software, which is based on Internet protocol, is currently being utilized for payments in the payroll, cruise-line, network-marketing, bill-paying and check-cashing industries.

In addition, Electronic Paycheck is now in the testing phase of a process to use its software and cards as part of a national loyalty-card program, whereby customers earn reward points by patronizing participating merchants. Electronic Paycheck has recently announced major contracts in the network-marketing and loyalty-card industries.

During the third quarter of this year, EP is expected to announce the development of software that will significantly increase the universe of cards that can be utilized to complete secured transactions via the Internet. Electronic Paycheck generates revenues based upon card issuance and ongoing transaction fees.

Doug King, president of Electronic Paycheck, said, "This is another use of our system and further demonstrates the flexibility and multiplatform capabilities designed into our software."

Community West Bancshares is a technology and financial services company with headquarters in Goleta. The company has three subsidiaries.

Electronic Paycheck provides proprietary technology platforms for the issuance and use of card technology to make payments and establish loyalty programs, and has the ability to settle transactions via ATM and POS networks, the automated clearinghouse system, and via the Internet.

Goleta National Bank has two full-service branches, one in Goleta and one in Ventura, and loan production offices located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada.

Palomar Savings & Loan Association has two full-service branches and a loan production office, all located in Escondido, Calif.

ACE Cash Express has headquarters in Irving, Texas, and is the largest owner, operator and franchisor of check-cashing stores in the United States. Founded in 1968, the company currently has a network of 920 stores, consisting of 799 company-owned stores and 121 franchised stores in 29 states.

ACE offers a broad range of financial and check-cashing services and is one of the largest providers of MoneyGram wire transfer transactions. In addition, ACE offers money orders, small consumer loans, bill-payment services, and prepaid local and long-distance telecommunication services. The company's Web site is found at www.acecashexpress.com.

Safe-Harbor Disclosure

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views of future events and operations. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the company as of the date of this release. It is important to note that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the company and Electronic Paycheck to develop its software, and economic events that may affect earnings. The company's actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including general economic conditions and "competition" as described in the company's Dec. 31, 1998, Form 10-K.