Findomestic Outsources Data Transport to TNS; Findomestic Appoints Transaction Network Services to Transmit Payments Data.

RESTON, Va. -- Transaction Network Services (NYSE:TNS), a leading network and data communications provider for transaction-oriented applications, today announced that Findomestic, Italy's premier provider of consumer credit, has outsourced the transport of its payments data to TNS.

In a two-year deal, TNS will migrate Findomestic's credit card transactions from a dedicated in-house Itapac system to TNS' IP Dial solution. Using an IP connection, TNS may annually transport up to 15 million payment transactions made using Findomestic's credit card, Carte Aura. The network will transport these payments from bank-owned point of sale terminals and direct them to Findomestic's central server in Florence. Where agreements with banks to receive payments by Carta Aura do not exist, TNS will collect the transactions and forward them to licensers Mastercard and Visa's international gateways.

The move will enable Findomestic to expand its business. The TNS solution allows Findomestic to accommodate the increasing number of transaction volumes. To safeguard Findomestic's customers against the risk of disruption to business, TNS has installed a secondary disaster recovery route to the company's back-up site in Milan.

"Joining forces with TNS has put us in a strong competitive position with card-holders and banking customers," said Alessandro Samori, acquiring & monetica manager, Findomestic. "Using TNS' network means that we can manage increasing traffic and be confident our payments will be dealt with securely, quickly and cost-effectively."

The deal comes at a time when TNS' international division has seen a number of banks, acquirers and processors outsource payments data. In the past 12 months, Cedecra and Centax in Italy and FreeStar Rahaxi in Sweden have also outsourced transport of transactions to TNS.

"We are delighted to be working with Findomestic," said Giovanni Miste, sales manager TNS. "This and similar recent contracts are a sign that banks, acquirers and processors, such as Findomestic, are outsourcing to third-party networks as an effective and economic means of managing the transport of payments. Employing a network such as TNS' frees Findomestic to focus on the core business of providing credit services to its customers. With the National Bank's stipulation that business continuity arrangements are in place, third-party networks like TNS are likely to become an increasingly attractive option."

TNS' international network allows data to be relayed between 96 points-of-presence in 25 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

About Transaction Network Services

Transaction Network Services (TNS) is one of the leading providers of business-critical, cost-effective data communications services for transaction-oriented applications. TNS provides rapid, reliable and secure transaction delivery across multiple vertical markets and trading communities.

Since its inception in 1990, TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks, each designed specifically for the transport of transaction-oriented data. TNS' networks support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods. TNS' network technologies have been deployed in the United States and internationally, and TNS' networks have become preferred networks servicing the trading community, wireless and wireline carriers, and the card processing and dial-up automated teller machine markets. For further information about TNS' transaction solutions, please refer to www.tnsi.com.