Chase Merchant Services, L.L.C. Signs Long TermAgreement With Processing Source International;...

Business Editors

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2000

Chase Merchant Services, L.L.C. (CMS), a joint venture between Chase Merchant Ventures Inc., a subsidiary of The Chase Manhattan Bank (NYSE:CMB) and First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC), Monday announced a five-year agreement

Under the agreement with Chase Merchant Services, PSI will be responsible for providing the underwriting, merchant account activation, customer service, risk management and technical support functions. CMS will sponsor PSI as an independent sales organization (ISO) for both Visa and MasterCard.

This sponsorship is one of Chase Merchant Services' first relationships in which an ISO will provide the full array of merchant services that CMS would traditionally perform itself.

"The agreement with PSI enables us to expand into merchant markets that have been historically served by the ISO network," stated Diane Vogt, chief executive officer of Chase Merchant Services. "As part of the CMS ISO network, these merchants will benefit from lower processing costs that result from CMS' large base of nationally known retailers and clients."

"We chose Chase Merchant Services because of the premier ISO benefits they offer," stated Al Urcuyo, president and chief executive officer of Processing Source International. "PSI believes that CMS' expertise in processing combined with our digital technology will provide the critical services that ISOs need to succeed in a rapidly expanding industry."

PSI is implementing Accesspoint's technology to create a full suite of innovative, real time account management tools that it anticipates will revolutionize the ISO world.

As the nation's leader in payment solutions, Chase Merchant Services will benefit the ISO community by enabling them to provide the industry with not only processing capabilities, but also with a clearing bank solution.

PSI will maintain its risk and underwriting offices in Chicago, with sales, marketing and administrative offices located in Woodland Hills, Calif.

About PSI

Processing Source International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accesspoint. As one of the nation's leading independent sales organizations (ISOs), PSI offers full-service merchant credit card processing services, providing merchants with the ability to accept and process transactions for VISA, MasterCard, American Express, JCB and all other major credit cards.