Equens and ICBPI Group Join Forces

UTRECHT, Netherlands, September 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Cooperation Will Enhance Efficiency in European Payments Market

Equens and Seceti - a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICBPI Group in Italy
- intend to establish a joint new company under Equens' current holding
structure. This strategic step will strengthen the European market position
of Equens and Seceti and further enhance the efficiency of the European
payment processing market. Both companies consider the establishment of a
joint new company as a firm foundation for further cooperation and growth. It
will enable both parties to reduce their costs for the benefit of their
clients. Together, both partners will annually process 8.7 billion payments
and switch 3 billion POS and ATM transactions. As a result of the combined
volumes they will become the largest pan-European processor in Europe with a
market share of 12 percent.

The possibilities and advantages of economies of scale for mutual clients
are obvious. This is the reason why an official Due Diligence phase will
start during the next few months. This phase will confirm the advantages of
the intended joint new company.

It is the intention of Equens and Seceti to establish a joint new company
within Equens' current holding structure. This means that from that moment
onwards, the Equens Group will consist of Equens Nederland, Equens
Deutschland and Equens Italia. The intended steps have been approved by both
the Supervisory Board and shareholders. The signing of an agreement regarding
this new company is expected to be finalised in mid-2008.

Michael Steinbach, Chairman of Equens' Board of Directors: "The intended
cooperation with Seceti is an important next step forward in our strategy to
become one of the leading payment processors in Europe. It proves that we are
fulfilling our ambitions. I am very proud that Seceti, being one of the most
leading payment processors in Italy, has chosen Equens as its strategic
partner."

"Europe is a crucial growth area for Seceti and we are committed to
develop our business in strategic cooperation with Equens across the entire
range of products and services," stated Giovanni De Censi, Chairman of the
Board of ICBPI . He also stressed that the intended agreement between the two
companies is in the best interest of all their shareholders and customers.

Note for the Editorial staff

About ICBPI

ICBPI GROUP is composed by highly qualified Companies specialising in the
design, planning and management of services oriented to Banks, Financial
Institutions and Insurances. Each company of the Group, in its own operative
environment, is able to support clients in both growth and competitive market
approach.

This network of specialist businesses provides a range of seamlessly
integrated outsourced services which are modular to meet the needs of
individual clients and cover the entire value chain. The Group offers
outsourcing business services ranging from traditional and innovative payment
systems to financial and administrative tools, from IT facilities for
healthcare, fiscal and safety services, to electronic payment services, and
from credit cards and payment systems to customer care through a contact
centre.

Constantly focused on business processes and technological evolution, the
Group designs, develops and deploys operating, administrative, applied and
technological services, thereby supporting the change, innovation and growth
of more than 300 Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies in the
Country.

About Seceti

Seceti is an integral part of the ICBPI Group and is one of Italy's major
companies specialising in outsourcing services for Payment Systems. Seceti
offers a complete portfolio for management of electronic payment circuits,
with an acknowledged leadership position in full outsourcing (hardware and
software) of ATMs. In this domain Seceti uses the "QuiMultibanca" network to
link over 8,000 ATM machines distributed throughout Italy. In the POS field,
Seceti handles the processing of more than 230,000 terminals and manages all
the back-end processes. For Corporate Banking Interbancario (C.B.I.)
services, Seceti is a delegated technical structure.

In the card sector, Seceti's offering integrates and completes the ICBPI
component, covering the entire range of infrastructural, applicative and
operative services. Thanks to its position as a service provider for
international circuits, Seceti is able to manage a wide range of cards,
including domestic, international and multifunctional prepaid cards.
Moreover, as an Application Center for the National Interbank Network, as
well as traditional routing services for domestic wholesale and retail
payments, Seceti also offers technological solutions for access to the
SwiftNet network, enabling banks to participate in the BI-Rel Target and EBA
Step2 systems, minimising the cost of upgrading to the new infrastructures.

For additional information, please visit http://www.seceti.it

About Equens

Equens is the first and currently only truly pan-European, full-service
payment processor. As one of the largest and most innovative payment
processors in Europe, Equens is leading the market for future-proof payments
and card processing solutions. Thanks to an extensive and competitive service
portfolio and a flexible, customer-orientated approach, the company
seamlessly meets the requirements of the European payments market. With an
annual volume of 7 billion payments and 2 billion POS and ATM transactions,
Equens has a market share of more than 10% within the eurozone. By
continuously pursuing further growth and translating the achieved synergy
benefits and economies of scale into advantages for the customer, the company
contributes to the efficiency of European payments.

For additional information, please consult: http://www.equens.com