MILAN, Italy and UTRECHT, The Netherlands, September 15 /PRNewswire/ --     The Italian ICBPI Group and Equens SE have signed an agreement on the
establishment of a joint venture: Equens Italia. ICBPI and Equens will each
hold 50 percent of the shares in the new company. ICBPI will also become
shareholder of Equens SE, in addition to current ones from Belgium, Germany
and the Netherlands. Equens Italia will be operational by late 2008, with its
registered offices in Milan. Michael Steinbach, in addition to his current
role as Chairman of Equens' Board of Directors, will be appointed Chairman of
the Board at Equens Italia. Giuseppe Capponcelli, in addition to his position
as General Manager of ICBPI, will be CEO of Equens Italia, and become a
member of Equens' Board of Directors. ICBPI Group and Equens SE are confident
that their joint venture will decisively contribute to the efficiency of the
European payment processing market.

For the establishment of the joint venture, all processing activities for
both cards and payments of the ICBPI Group and its subsidiaries, will be
transferred to Equens Italia. In a second phase - within a maximum of three
years - Equens Italia will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Equens SE.

The main goal of the joint venture is to obtain more synergies and
benefits for the clients of both companies in the long term. The benefits
will include improved processes, services and customer satisfaction, and
further reductions in the costs per transaction. The Italian market for
electronic payments is characterised by consistent growth opportunities.
Therefore, ICBPI Group and Equens consider the establishment of Equens Italia
a firm foundation for further cooperation and growth. It will enable a
reduction of processing costs for the benefit of clients and provide
future-proof payment solutions. Together, Equens SE and Equens Italia will
process around 8.7 billion payments and switch 3 billion POS and ATM
transactions annually.

The employees concerned in the new company are currently working for
ICBPI or its subsidiaries. Equens Italia will be managed in the first phase
according to the current governance structure of ICBPI. Consequently, Equens
Italia's Board of Directors will consist of eight executives and
non-executives.

Giovanni De Censi, Chairman of the Board of ICBPI commented: "We are
committed to a leadership position in the domestic and cross-border payment
industry, to support and help Italian Banks in their competitive strategy in
European markets. We saw long ago that our efforts would be better served
achieving economies of scale and pursuing synergies with other actors in the
market. Equens SE follows a clear vision of the European payment industry,
one of high quality service and commitment to standards and new market
sectors, and we are already sharing our goals with them. So the choice of
establishing Equens Italia with them is a straightforward move in the best
interest of our customers and shareholders."

"With the establishment of Equens Italia we consequently live up our
European growth strategy and business model. We are proud that ICBPI has
chosen Equens as its European consolidation partner. This choice enables
Equens to materialize further synergies to the benefit of our clients and
enlarge our role as a leading payment and card processor within Europe. We
look forward on the partnership with our Italian colleagues," says Michael
Steinbach, Chairman of Equens' Board of Directors.

Note for the editorial staff

About ICBPI

ICBPI GROUP is composed of highly experienced companies specialising in
the design, planning and management of services for Banks, Financial
Institutions and Insurance Companies. In their respective areas of operation,
the companies in the Group are able to support clients in achieving growth
and a competitive market approach.

This network of specialist businesses provides a range of seamlessly
integrated, modular outsourcing services that meet the needs of individual
clients and cover the entire value chain. The Group offers business
outsourcing services in a wide variety of areas including traditional and
innovative payment systems, financial and administrative tools, IT facilities
for healthcare, tax and safety services, electronic payment services, credit
cards and payment systems, and customer contact centers.

With a constant focus 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 Italy.

About Equens

Equens SE is the first 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 7.3 billion payments and 2.1 billion POS and ATM
transactions, Equens has a market share of more than 15% within the euro
zone. 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 visit http://www.equens.com