Concord EFS and FMI Announce Check Conversion Pilot.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1999--

Concord EFS, Inc. (Nasdaq:CEFT) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) announced today that the initial pilot for a new check conversion product is underway at Gooding's Supermarket in Celebration, Florida. The check conversion pilot is the first joint project between Concord and FMI to emerge from the strategic alliance announced in June, in which Concord was selected by FMI to develop new electronic payment solutions that will help to reduce costs for the supermarket industry. The check conversion methodology was reviewed and endorsed by the FMI board of directors at their recent meeting in Pasadena, California.

"We've been delighted with Concord's rapid progress on the development of the conversion of paper checks to electronic transactions, and with the collaborative nature of the development and planning process," said Tim Hammonds, president and CEO of FMI. "Our work together is creating standards for electronic check products that can be used by supermarkets nationwide, which will make check conversion implementations faster and easier in the future." Gary Michael, chairman of FMI's Board-level EPS Oversight Committee and chairman/CEO of Albertson's, Inc., agreed, saying, "It's important for every retailer to have a strategy to convert paper checks to lower cost electronic payments, eventually moving consumers to pre-authorized debit (ACH) or on-line debit cards. We believe the check conversion initiative is a critical first step in moving paper checks to these alternative forms of electronic payments."

Check conversion, also called "check truncation," allows the retailer to accept checks for payment, but eliminates the actual paper check from the settlement process, thereby reducing check handling costs. A traditional check is presented by the customer and verified by the sales clerk. The cashier passes the check through a check reader to capture information from the MICR line, enters the purchase and cash-back amounts, and the now-electronic transaction is submitted to an authorization network where it is authorized and captured. The voided check is returned to the customer on the spot. Transactions are cleared and settled via the automated clearinghouse (ACH) network.

"We are very pleased to be pioneering this new end-to-end check conversion product at the point of sale," said Tony Lomma, Director of Information Systems/Technology at Gooding's. "We have had great success in reducing our check losses with the help of Concord's check authorization systems. We anticipate that this new program will be a natural progression in controlling the cost of checks." The pilot store is located at 600 Market Street, Celebration, Florida.

"The Gooding's store in Celebration, Florida is uniquely suited for the initial pilot because it's a moderately-sized store located in a relatively self-contained environment," said Edward A. Labry III, Concord president. "The purpose of the pilot is to test the Concord systems in a real-life operating situation, but there are other important measures that will be taken as well, such as time studies, comparative cost analyses, and surveys to gauge reactions by consumers and store personnel. We're trying to touch on all the issues that concern supermarkets when they consider new payment alternatives."

ACH-based payment products for the supermarket industry are not new for Concord - which has offered an ACH card product since 1989 - or FMI members. With an ACH card, the customer initiates the transaction with a magnetic-striped or bar-coded plastic card which is read by a POS terminal or scanner. As with the check conversion product, the transaction is submitted to an authorization network where it is authorized and captured, and an ACH file is submitted to the ACH network for clearing and settlement. Concord's largest ACH card client is Safeway, Inc., which has been providing ACH card services to its Denver Safeway Division since 1991 and to its Vons Stores in California within the past year.

"Concord's established ACH card program and their work on check truncation were two of the reasons we chose Concord to help us implement our future payment strategies," said Mr. Hammonds. "Both products have the potential to help supermarkets expand payment options while controlling their costs, which is ultimately a win-win for everyone."

Mr. Labry agrees. "We're especially excited about the potential for combining frequency marketing programs and pro 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.

About FMI:

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is a nonprofit association conducting programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 members including their subsidiaries - food retailers and wholesalers and their customers in the United States and around the world. FMI's domestic member companies operate approximately 21,000 retail food stores with a combined annual sales volume of $220 billion - more than half of all grocery store sales in the United States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, small regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 members from 60 countries.

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.