WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic Payment Services,
Inc. (EPS) announced that its MONEY ACCESS SERVICE INC. (MAS) subsidiary,
operator of the MAC(R) EFT network, processed over 1.2 billion switch
transactions in 1997.  This represented a 13% growth over 1996.  The MAC
network is the largest EFT network in the United States based on switch
transactions, processing one out of every five shared transactions in the
U.S.

    MONEY ACCESS SERVICE INC. highlights for the fourth quarter included:
    -- Total MAS 4th quarter switch transaction volume was 333 million, up 16%
        over fourth quarter 1996.
    -- ATM volume was 16% above fourth quarter 1996 with over 300 million
transactions, while MAC point-of-sale (POS) volume increased 30% over fourth
quarter 1996 with over 32.5 million transactions.  1997 was a banner year for
MAC network transaction volume, processing over 100 million transactions in
each of the last ten months of the year.
    -- The MAC network experienced record-breaking volume on November 26,
        1997, the day before Thanksgiving.  Volume totaled approximately
        5.5 million transactions processed through its switch for that day.
    -- The MAC network added 31 new financial institution members across
        9 states in the fourth quarter, with over 200 new members added in
        1997.  There are currently over 2,150 financial institution members
        across all 50 states participating in the MAC network.
    -- MAC(R) point-of-sale (POS) locations continue to grow with over 400,000
        POS terminals displaying the MAC brand across the U.S.  Target Stores
        was one of the major merchants that began a POS rollout in 1997 and
        began accepting the MAC card for purchases.
    -- Many retailers continued to expand MAC(R) point-of-sale locations
        throughout 1997.  The MAC card is accepted at the point-of-sale
        for purchases at these major retailers: Amtrak(R), Kmart, and the U.S.
        Postal Service.
    -- ATM installations were the highest ever in a three-month period with
        over 5,000 installations in the fourth quarter bringing the total
        number of ATMs installed during 1997 to over 10,000.  EPS drives over
        22,000 ATMs in total.
    -- 87 financial institutions signed off-line debit card processing
        contracts in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to 375
        institutions for the year.
    -- There are currently 32,000 ATMs and 36.5 million cards bearing the MAC
        logo.

    Electronic Payment Services, Inc. (EPS), a privately held company
headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, is a leading electronic funds transfer
(EFT) processor in the United States, with approximately 2.3 billion
transactions annually.  EPS is the holding company for BUYPASS Corporation, a
major third-party POS processor and debit transactor acquirer with annual
transaction volume of over 1 billion; and MONEY ACCESS SERVICE INC., an EFT
processor driving over 22,000 ATMs in all 50 states.  MONEY ACCESS SERVICE is
also operator of the MAC(R) EFT network, the largest EFT network in the United
States based on over 1.2 billion switch transactions annually, with 32,000
ATMs and over 400,000 POS terminals nationally.  Over 2,150 financial
institutions are members of the MAC network, with 36.5 million customers
carrying cards bearing the MAC logo.  MONEY ACCESS SERVICE INC. controls the
license rights for the registered trademark MAC.

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