Thursday, September 3, 2009

Interac and PULSE Reach ABM Agreement

INTERAC(R) and PULSE(R) collaborate to provide cash access in Canada for Diners Club, Discover and PULSE cardholders

TORONTO, Aug. 31 /CNW/ - INTERAC and PULSE today announced an agreement
to provide Diners Club, Discover and PULSE cardholders the ability to withdraw
money from ABMs of participating Acquirers in Canada.

"The agreement with PULSE builds on INTERAC's commitment to expand
international use of the payment network through relationships with other
networks," said Mark O'Connell, President and CEO, Acxsys Corporation,
architects of the INTERAC network.

Similar to INTERAC's Cross Border service, the PULSE and INTERAC
connection eliminates network setup and ongoing costs for Canadian Acquirers.

"We are pleased to be collaborating with INTERAC to expand cash access
for Diners Club, Discover and PULSE cards in Canada," said Dave Schneider,
PULSE President. "Increasing acceptance around the world is a key priority for
Discover Financial Services and this agreement supports that goal."

PULSE, one of the largest ATM/debit networks in the United States, is
part of Discover Financial Services. The relationship with PULSE is expected
to drive incremental transaction volume for Canadian Acquirers.

"This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to serving the needs of
our clients by bringing them innovative services to support and grow their
businesses," said O'Connell. "The agreement will allow Canadian Acquirers to
evolve their ABM service offerings by extending their services to additional
cardholders travelling in Canada."

Access to the service was initiated for Diners Club cards in July. ABM
acceptance for Discover and PULSE cards on the INTERAC network is scheduled
for October 2009.

About Acxsys Corporation

Acxsys Corporation, comprised of eight large financial institutions as
shareholders, is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Acxsys specializes in the
development and operation of new payment service opportunities as well as
consulting and management services in the field of electronic payments. The
Corporation's shareholders are the architects of Canada's national network for
shared electronic financial services: INTERAC Direct Payment, Canada's
national debit card service and INTERAC Shared Cash Dispensing Service for
cash withdrawals at Automated Banking Machines. For more information, please
visit www.acxsys.ca.

About PULSE

PULSE is one of the leading ATM/debit networks in the U.S., currently
serving more than 4,500 banks, credit unions and savings institutions across
the United States. PULSE is owned by Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS).
The network links cardholders with more than 289,000 ATMs, as well as POS
terminals at retail locations throughout the U.S. The company is also a valued
resource for industry research related to electronic payments and is committed
to providing its participants with education on evolving products, services
and trends in the payments industry. For more information, visit
www.pulsenetwork.com.

For further information: Tina Romano, Interac Association, Acxsys
Corporation, (416) 869-5062, tromano@interac.ca; Steve Sievert, PULSE, (832)
214-0111 or (800) 420-2122, ssievert@pulsenetwork.com
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