NYCE Honors Top Processors People's Bank, A&P Recognized.

Business Editors

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

NYCE, a leading U.S. electronic payments company, presented its "2001 NYCE Network Processing Excellence" award to People's Bank and The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P).

The awards were presented in recognition of the processors' ability to provide the highest possible levels of approved transactions and the lowest possible levels of transaction exceptions during 2001.

Connecticut-based People's Bank -- which received the award for outstanding cardholder processing -- has been a NYCE Network Participant since 1993. "Making sure that every possible cardholder transaction has access to the system is paramount in this business," said Gary E. D'Andrea, vice president, Operations, with People's Bank. "That is why we are pleased to be a member of a Network like NYCE which takes such pride in both their own performance, and in the processing capabilities of their Participants."

A&P, based in Montvale, New Jersey, was recognized by NYCE for outstanding terminal processing. In acknowledging the award, Richard De Santa, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for A&P, said, "Our team works diligently to keep our systems up and running in order to provide our customers with uninterrupted service. On behalf of our associates, we're honored that NYCE chose to recognize this commitment to excellence."

To determine the award recipients, NYCE analyzed the Network performance data for 2001 and identified the direct-connect processing organizations that consistently surpassed NYCE's stringent processing standards.

"Superior reliability and high approval rates are the hallmark of a successful electronic payments network," said John Smith, vice president and chief technology officer at NYCE. "This is especially true for NYCE, and we are proud to acknowledge our Network-participating processors that excel in supporting our quality standards."

About People's Bank

People's (peoples.com) is a diversified financial services company providing commercial, consumer, insurance and investment services. Founded in 1842, it is the largest state-chartered bank in Connecticut with managed assets of $14 billion, 150 branches and 230 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation's 15th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment leasing and financing and insurance services.

About The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company

Founded in 1859, A&P was one of the nation's first supermarket chains, and is today one of North America's 10 largest. The Company operates more than 700 stores in 15 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada under the following trade names: A&P, Waldbaum's, The Food Emporium, Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, Farmer Jack, Kohl's, Sav-A-Center, Dominion, The Barn Markets, Food Basics and Ultra Food & Drug.

About NYCE

NYCE Corporation is one of the leading electronic payments companies in the United States, providing financial institutions and retailers with shared network services for automated teller machines (ATMs), on-line debit point-of-sale (POS) and emerging real-time payment solutions. In addition to innovative product development, the company also provides processing services that support ATM management and monitoring services, debit card issuance and authorization solutions. NYCE's strategic alliance with First Data Corporation (FDC) is a unique model for the industry that combines the strengths of both organizations through product development, service delivery and complementary national/international reach. Comprising 2,200 financial institution and retail ATM Participants, the NYCE Network processes approximately 100 million transactions per month. NYCE Corporation is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, and can be found online at www.nyce.net.