NACHA ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS

HERNDON, Va., May 19, 2008—NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association announced the 2008
recipients of its Distinguished Service Awards. The recipients, who will receive their awards at the
PAYMENTS 2008 chairperson’s leadership reception at NACHA’s annual conference, include:

• Gerald F. Milano, former senior vice president of The Clearing House, serving as business
manager for SVPCO—Check Services for outstanding leadership and commitment to the
payments industry

• Samuel D. Smith, senior vice president, retired, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for
outstanding leadership and commitment to the payments industry

• Craig T. Vaream, managing director of ACH and global check deposits product executive for

SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORPORATION RECEIVES NACHA’S 2008 GEORGE MITCHELL PAYMENTS SYSTEMS EXCELLENCE AWARD

LAS VEGAS—May 20, 2008—NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association announced today
that Synovus Financial Corporation has been awarded its 2008 George Mitchell Payments
Systems Excellence Award. Garry Hedges, director of planning and payments strategy, will
accept the award on behalf of Synovus Financial Corporation at NACHA's PAYMENTS 2008
conference in Las Vegas.

Synovus, operating 37 separate banks across the Southeast, is a leading technology innovator in
check imaging, mobile payments and alternative payments.

"Synovus is an organization that has turned the challenge of a decentralized structure into a
successful business model and used technology as their core ten ...

FIRST DATA’S TELECHECK AWARDED NACHA’S

2008 KEVIN O’BRIEN ACH QUALITY AWARD

LAS VEGAS, May 20, 2008—NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association awarded its 2008
Kevin O’Brien ACH Quality Award to TeleCheck Services, Inc., a First Data company, for its
leadership and contributions to advancing the highest standards of efficiency and ACH Network
quality. Mark Wallin, general manager of TeleCheck and First Data’s ACH services will accept the
award today at NACHA's PAYMENTS 2008 conference in Las Vegas.

“TeleCheck has been a positive participant and active contributor to the advancement of the
electronic payments industry, the ACH Network and NACHA for years,” said Elliott C. McEntee,
chief executive officer of NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association. “TeleCheck consist ...

PETER YEATRAKAS RECEIVES NACHA’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Former President and CEO of WesPay Honored for 34 Years of Industry Service

LAS VEGAS— May 20, 2008—NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association has announced that
Peter Yeatrakas, president emeritus (retiring June 2008), Western Payments Alliance (WesPay), will
receive its Payments Systems Lifetime Achievement Award at PAYMENTS 2008. Yeatrakas is being
recognized for his long career in and contributions to the ACH Network and electronic payments system.

“Pete Yeatrakas is a visionary who has left his mark on the nation’s payments systems,” said Elliott C.
McEntee, chief executive officer of NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association. “Pete has been a true
industry leader, instrumental in developing some of the key i ...

Bank of America, Wells Fargo Form Payment Processing Joint Venture
May 15, 2008 12:00 PM ET
PR Newswire

Combines Volume, Technology to Increase Speed and Investment in Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO and CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wells Fargo & Company WFC and Bank of America BAC today announced the formation of a joint venture to operate a single, combined automated clearinghouse (ACH) platform for both companies and their clients. The new entity, called Pariter Solutions LLC, will be the country's largest processor of ACH payments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Through joint venture, the two companies will combine their strengths in advanced processing technology and high payment volumes to create a single, more efficient plat ...

JANET ESTEP NAMED AS NACHA’S NEXT CEO

Formal Introduction to Membership and Industry at PAYMENTS 2008

HERNDON, Va., May 13, 2008 – The NACHA Board of Directors has selected Janet O. Estep, most
recently an executive vice president with U.S. Bank, to succeed Elliott McEntee, who will retire as
president and chief executive officer at the end of 2008. During the transition period, Ms. Estep will
serve as president and chief operating officer and Mr. McEntee will continue as chief executive officer.

“The Board selected Jan because she has the right experience, insight, and drive to ensure the
continued safety, innovation, and growth of the ACH Network,” said Steve Ellis, executive vice
president, Wells Fargo and NACHA Board chairperson. “She has an outstanding track r ...

The Federal government will soon begin to disburse economic stimulus payments, many of which will be made by Direct Deposit. NACHA has discussed operational aspects of these Direct Deposits with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Financial Management Service (FMS).

In addition to information already being issued, NACHA sought additional information from FMS on three points:

How will the payments be identified?

The payments will appear identical as normal tax refunds made by Direct Deposit, and the bulk of the stimulus payments will have settlement dates of Fridays May 2, May 9, and May 16, 2008. Many, but not all, of the stimulus payments will be in round dollar amounts.

How will individuals be notified?

The IRS has already mailed notifications to individuals about the payme ...

Take a New Look at Direct Deposit and Direct Payment

May is National Direct Deposit and Direct Payment Month

HERNDON, Va. – May 7, 2008 – A financial industry group is encouraging consumers and businesses to take a new look at using Direct Deposit and Direct Payment.  Although the two payments options have been around for more than 30 years, the group will use the national awareness month in May to update information on old assumptions about the two payment options.

Three out of four workers who are offered Direct Deposit use it.  However, there are still many workers who are not offered this benefit, primarily employees of small businesses.

“Most small business owners still think Direct Deposit is only efficient for large corporations.  That’s simply not the case any more,” said Lisa Mon ...

NACHA Launches Secure Vault Payments Pilot

Secure Vault Payments Offers Consumers a New Way to Pay Online

HERNDON, Va. – May 5, 2008 – NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association announced today that Secure Vault Payments is now a live pilot program to test online consumer purchases and bill payments. The Automated Clearing House(ACH)-based Internet payments network allows consumers to conduct e-commerce and bill payment transactions without sharing personal account information.
 
Columbus Bank and Trust Company, a Synovus bank, was the sponsoring and authorizing bank for the first live transactions originated through consumer purchases at igourmet.com, a leading online retailer.

“Secure Vault Payments shows that the financial services industry can develop the next-generation of payment solutions on the structure of existing ban ...

Purpose

This bulletin presents guidance to national banks for due diligence, underwriting, and monitoring of entities that process payments for telemarketers and other merchant clients. As detailed in several OCC issuances, certain merchants, such as telemarketers, pose a higher risk than other merchants and require additional due diligence and close monitoring. This bulletin supplements, but does not replace, existing guidance related to Automated Clearing House (ACH) risk management, merchant processing, and remotely-created checks (RCCs).

Background

The OCC has seen a variety of relationships between banks and processors in which the processor uses its bank relationship to process payments for merchant clients. Often the processor uses a bank account as the vehicle to conduct such payment processing. For exa ...