Concord EFS Completes Business-to-Business E-Commerce Infrastructure With Purchase of Internet Software Company.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1999--

Concord EFS, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEFT) announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Virtual Cyber Systems, Inc. (VCS), an Internet software development company specializing in user-friendly solutions for non-technical users. Company executives said that the agreement to acquire VCS is the final piece of the puzzle in their three-tiered strategy to provide vertically-integrated e-commerce services to retailers of all sizes. VCS' core software product is the award-winning SiteMerger(TM), which is designed for use by small business owners to build and maintain their web sites without costly third-party help. The agreement with VCS, a privately-owned company based in Phoenix, Arizona, is subject to regulatory approval.

In a separate but related announcement today it was also disclosed that Concord has agreed to license Internet software products from Open Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMKT), a leading software supplier to commerce service providers worldwide. The agreement covers Open Market Transact, a leading Internet commerce application which provides secure order capture, transaction authorization, and payment processing for conducting commerce on the World Wide Web; and Open Market ShopSite, an easy-to-use on-line store creation system.

"There are 2.5 million small commercial web sites today, but only a small percent of them are transactional sites," said Edward A. Labry III, Concord president. "Our strategy is to take the turn-key approach we use in our other cashless commerce business lines and apply it to Internet commerce, making it possible for small and medium-sized retailers to establish a presence on the web and move quickly to promotion, lead-generation, and active selling via the Internet. With these leading software products and the VCS technical staff teaming with current Concord personnel, we now have all of the elements to create, host, and maintain informational web sites, plus provide secure end-to-end consumer-to-business and business-to-business payments for retailers of all sizes."

Concord's three-tiered e-commerce services strategy parallels the progressive stages that retailers go through as they build a presence on the Internet:

-- Tier I helps small retail merchants create and maintain

informational web sites, including providing design services,

web-hosting, and content management. VCS' software development

staff will provide the consultative and technical resources to

help clients build their web sites, and the SiteMerger software

will allow small retailers to maintain their sites

cost-effectively.

-- Tier II helps small-to-medium merchants add secure e-commerce

capabilities to their web sites, both for consumer purchases and

business-to-business payments. This involves providing

development support for an on-line store, plus handling order

management, security, transaction authorization and processing,

reporting, and on-line customer service. The Open Market Transact

product will power the commerce capabilities, while the ShopSite

software will provide the tools to create the on-line stores.

-- Tier III provides the payment transaction authorization and

settlement for retailers who already have on-line stores on their

web sites. Concord's end-to-end payment processing--providing

transaction authorization, capture, and settlement--will simplify

the process of taking payments over the Internet for retailers of

all sizes.

The Concord suite of e-commerce services is expected to be rolled out within the next 90 days to current merchant clients via Concord's existing sales force of 450 sales people. The VCS transaction is expected to be completed by year-end.

About Concord EFS, Inc.:

Concord is a vertically integrated electronic transaction processor, providing transaction authorization, data capture, settlement and funds transfer services to selected markets. Concord's primary activities include providing credit, debit, check authorization, and electronic benefits transfer (EBT) processing services to supermarket, petroleum, convenience store, and other retailers; and providing gateway processing, ATM driving and MAC(R) network access to the financial services industry. Concord also provides electronic payment and payroll services to trucking companies, truck stops and other segments of the market.

This release may contain or incorporate by reference statements which may constitute "forward-looking" information, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of1934, as amended. Any such statements are not guarantees for future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future results over time. See the cautionary statements included as Exhibit 99 to our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1999 for a more detailed discussion of certain of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.