WYOMISSING, Pa. and DENVER, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign
Bank and electronic commerce and payments leader First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC)
today announced they have signed a five-year renewal agreement to provide a
comprehensive array of electronic payment processing products and services for
Sovereign Bank's merchant customers in the New England and Mid-Atlantic
markets.
The agreement renews the establishment of Sovereign Merchant Services,
which was first created as a strategic alliance between First Data and
Sovereign Bank in 2001. First Data provides merchant payment processing
services on behalf of Sovereign Bank in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In the past
year, Sovereign Merchant Services had more than 27,185 merchant outlets,
73 million merchant transactions and $5.3 billion in merchant sales.
Sovereign Merchant Services combines Sovereign Bank's strong market brand
recognition and community banking offices with First Data's economies of scale
and expertise in growing a merchant business. The processing powers of First
Data, combined with the additional banking service offerings of Sovereign
Bank, give merchants a one-stop solution for all of their business banking
needs. Having processed more than 12.2 billion merchant transactions last
year, First Data's core systems and services include authorization,
settlement, chargeback, reconciliation, credit, debit, gift card, check
verification and guarantee, point-of-sale solutions and equipment management.
"We couldn't be more pleased with the relationship we've built with First
Data. Sovereign Merchant Services has the ability to meet the needs of even
our most demanding clients by offering cost effective, advanced technology
solutions with the robust customer service you'd expect from your bank," said
Joseph Campanelli, President and COO of Sovereign Bank's New England Division.
"Every second of every day, millions of people and businesses around the
world rely on First Data to handle transactions safely, reliably and
securely," said Scott Betts, President, First Data Enterprise Payments. "This
renewed alliance with Sovereign Bank enables us to continue to provide a
variety of superior payment options to merchants who need them. We, at First
Data, pride ourselves on our ability to represent our bank partners with the
same customer care and level of service that they provide their customers
today."
About Sovereign Bank
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company
of Sovereign Bank, pro forma, a $60 billion financial institution with more
than 650 community banking offices, over 1,000 ATMs and approximately
9,500 team members in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In addition to full-service
retail banking, Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and
products including business and corporate banking, cash management, capital
markets, trust and wealth management and insurance. Pro forma for pending
acquisitions, Sovereign is the 18th largest banking institution in the United
States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit
http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.
About First Data
First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with global headquarters in Denver, helps
power the global economy. As a leader in electronic commerce and payment
services, First Data serves approximately 3.5 million merchant locations,
1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, making it easy, fast and secure
for people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services using
virtually any form of payment. With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, the
company provides credit, debit, private-label, smart and stored-value card
issuing and merchant transaction processing services; Internet commerce
solutions; money transfer services; money orders; and check guarantee and
verification services. The STAR(R) Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance
at 260,000 ATMs and 1.2 million point-of-sale locations nationwide. First Data
also offers a variety of payment services to businesses around the world
including those in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico,
Spain, Panama, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Greece, the Middle East and
Germany. Its Western Union and Orlandi Valuta money transfer networks include
approximately 202,000 agent locations in more than 195 countries and
territories. Visit http://www.firstdata.com for more information.
FDC-1
SOURCE First Data Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.firstdata.com
CONTACT:
Jim Green of First Data, +1-631-683-7544,
jamesk.green@firstdata.com, or Ellen Molle of Sovereign Bank,
+1-617-757-5573, emolle@sovereignbank.com
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