Ford Awards Payment Processing Agreement to Paymentech

DALLAS, Sept. 16 -- Ford Motor Company announced today that it has tapped Paymentech for electronic payment processing at its nearly 5,000 dealerships across the country. Paymentech is now the preferred processor for the company's system-wide FORDSTAR Charge and Check Services Program.

Through Paymentech, Ford dealerships will now have access to more competitive processing rates -- and a broader range of payment options, including debit, fleet and gift cards -- to increase sales opportunities. Fleet cards, used by major federal and state government entities and private companies that own multiple vehicles, are used to pay for service and parts that their employee drivers may need.

Fleet and gift cards have been proven to drive up revenues and increase customer loyalty. In addition, for customers paying the old-fashioned way, Paymentech supports the Certegy check guarantee system, which helps ensure that dealers never have to worry about accepting a bounced check.

"The new program enables dealers to both decrease their cost of credit and leverage multiple payment options to drive sales," said Barry Coffey, Paymentech's Director of Strategic Sales. "Plus, we're providing them with a more advanced accounting tool to simplify their bookkeeping and the fastest possible connection speeds for dial-up and Internet communications -- all of which are going to make doing business a lot easier for the dealers."

Most dealerships have not previously had the option of offering dealership-branded gift cards. Gift cards can be useful for a variety of reasons.

"If you've got a kid going off to college, the parents want the peace of mind that comes from knowing they're taken care of," Coffey said. "Prepaid cards are a great way to ensure that the student will have access to quality parts and service -- virtually anywhere in the country. It's a great value- added service for their customers."

Ford dealers will also benefit from a dedicated 800 number for 24/7 customer support, free Internet access for web-based reporting and customized electronic statements. The full transition to Paymentech processing is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2003.

About Paymentech

Paymentech, L.P. processes more payment transactions than any other company in North America -- and more than half of all Internet transactions -- for retailers accepting U.S. and international payments via traditional point of sale, Internet, catalog and recurring payments. The privately held company, founded in 1985, is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries. Paymentech's 1,500 employees office in multiple locations, including the Dallas headquarters; New York; Salem, NH; Tampa, FL; and Tempe, AZ. In 2002, Paymentech and its Canadian affiliate, based in Toronto, processed 4.2 billion transactions and $123 billion in bankcard sales in 14 currencies. For more information, please visit www.paymentech.com .