DENVER, Jan 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Union Financial Services, Inc., a
subsidiary of First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) and Illuminet, a wholly owned
subsidiary of VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), today announced the signing of a
multi-year contract that will allow Illuminet to offer the Western Union(R)
SwiftPay(R) service as a payment solution to small and mid-sized wireless
carriers.
Illuminet provides a variety of innovative products and services to the
telecommunications industry, including pre-paid wireless services. Under the
terms of the contract, Illuminet's carrier customers will offer its
subscribers the ability to use the Western Union SwiftPay service and its
network of nearly 40,000 agent locations nationwide to recharge their pre-paid
wireless accounts. The addition of Western Union will significantly expand
the payment networks of these carriers, allowing them to provide a convenient,
nationwide pre-paid service.
"The pre-paid wireless market continues to expand dramatically in the
United States," said Joe Jackson, president, Western Union Commercial
Services. "Wireless carriers are constantly seeking ways to provide
additional value to their customers. That includes offering convenient ways
to replenish airtime on pre-paid accounts. With Western Union's unparalleled
agent network, these carriers can be assured that their customers will be able
to quickly and easily re-charge their accounts, when and where they need to."
"We are pleased to offer Western Union's thousands of replenishment
locations coast-to-coast to the many carriers who offer Illuminet's prepaid
wireless services," said Bob Adamany, Illuminet's Director of Wireless
Services. "Ease of replenishment, especially while roaming, is essential for
a successful prepaid offering," said Adamany.
Illuminet will conduct a gradual roll-out of the SwiftPay pre-payment
option, with more than 30 carriers expected to offer the service by end of
2002. The first of these carriers, ALLTEL, has already begun offering
SwiftPay to its customers as a pre-payment option. ALLTEL customers simply
provide their wireless telephone number and cash payment at any of the nearly
40,000 Western Union agent locations around the country. Payment will be
posted to the customer's account on a near real-time basis, replenishing the
account within minutes.
About Western Union Financial Services, Inc. and First Data
Western Union Financial Services, Inc., a subsidiary of First Data Corp.
(NYSE: FDC), is a worldwide leader in consumer money transfer services.
Utilizing the services of Western Union and its subsidiaries, consumers can
quickly, safely and reliably transfer money at more than 117,000 Agent
locations in more than 185 countries and territories. Famous for its
pioneering telegraph service, the original Western Union dates back to
1851 and introduced electronic money transfer service in 1871. Western Union
is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary. For more information, please
visit the company's Web site at http://www.westernunion.com .
First Data Corp., with global headquarters in Denver, powers the global
economy. Serving approximately 2.6 million merchant locations, more than
1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data makes it easier,
faster and more secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services,
using virtually any form of payment: credit, debit, smart card, stored-value
card or check at the point-of-sale, over the Internet or by money transfer.
For more information, please visit the company's Web site at
http://www.firstdata.com .
About Illuminet
Founded in 1981, Illuminet, a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriSign, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VRSN) is a leading provider of advanced nationwide signaling and
intelligent network services to the communications industry. Connection to
the Illuminet network gives carriers access to the system of signaling
networks of nearly the entire U.S. public-switched telecommunications
infrastructure through a single source. Illuminet specializes in SS7 network
services and intelligent network solutions for services such as calling name
delivery, calling card validation, domestic and international wireless
roaming, wireless clearing, inter-carrier SMS interoperability, number
portability, network usage measurement, Operations Support System (OSS)
interconnection, toll-free and other specialized database access functions,
including real-time account management for providers of prepaid wireless
services. Illuminet's headquarters are at 4501 Intelco Loop SE, Lacey, WA
98503; (360) 493-6000; http://www.illuminet.com .
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust
services that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and
communications with confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create a
trusted environment through three core offerings -- name, authentication and
payment services -- powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than
five billion network connections and transactions a day. Additional news and
information about the company is available at http://www.verisign.com .
SOURCE Western Union Financial Services, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.westernunion.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/103364.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/138116.html
CONTACT:
Wendy Carver-Herbert of Western Union
Financial Services, Inc., +1-303-967-6416,
wendy.carver@firstdatacorp.com; or Penny Thomas of Illuminet,
+1-360-493-6724, media_relations@Illuminet.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: Illuminet is a registered mark of Illuminet
Holdings, Inc.
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