First Data to Acquire Austrian Payment Systems Services

First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), a global leader in electroniccommerce and payment services, announced today that it has signed anagreement to acquire Austrian Payment Systems Services GmbH (APSS),Austria's leading processor of cashless, card-based paymenttransactions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

APSS provides the country's banking industry with debit and creditcard issuing and acquiring processing, as well as card networkoperations and terminals and ATM processing. The acquisition by FirstData will enable the company to broaden its service offering to itsbanking clients, while supporting First Data's continued expansion inthe fast growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

David Yates, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, First DataInternational, said: "We are very pleased that APSS' shareholders haveselected First Data. APSS is an excellent complement to our currentEuropean business and fits perfectly within our strategy of expansionacross Central and Eastern Europe. We are committed to the Austrianmarket, which offers significant growth potential in its cardbusiness, and we look forward to working with the APSS management andstaff to further develop the business and offer leading electronicprocessing solutions to the company's highly valued clients."

Herbert Legradi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of APSS added:"First Data and APSS are a perfect match. First Data's commitment tothe region and extensive track record in acquiring and successfullyintegrating payment processing companies make the company a uniquelyqualified partner for APSS. By combining APSS' dedicated managementteam and technical proficiency with First Data's global resources anddeep payment processing expertise, the company will be well positionedto provide its clients with an even broader service and productoffering that is tailored specifically to the Austrian market."

Under the terms of the agreement, APSS' headquarters will remainin Austria and the company will continue to manage its relationshipswith Austrian banks locally. The acquisition complements First Data'sexpansion during 2004 into Greece and, this year, into Slovakia,Lithuania, Latvia, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, Hungary and the Nordicregion.

Completion of the transaction, which is expected to occur in thefourth quarter, is subject to approvals by the relevant Austrianauthorities.

CAIB Corporate Finance acted as financial advisor to First Data.Raiffeisen Investment AG and CDI Beteiligungsberatung GmbH acted asfinancial advisors to Austrian Payment Systems Services.

About First Data

First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) is a leading provider of electroniccommerce and payment solutions for businesses and consumers worldwide.Serving 4.1 million merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers andmillions of consumers, First Data powers the global economy by makingit easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world tobuy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. Thecompany's portfolio of services and solutions includes credit, debit,private-label, smart and stored-value card issuing and merchanttransaction processing services; money transfer services; moneyorders; fraud protection and authentication solutions; check guaranteeand verification services through TeleCheck; as well as Internetcommerce and mobile solutions. Western Union and its subsidiary,Orlandi Valuta, together make up one of the world's largest moneytransfer networks with approximately 233,000 Agent locations in morethan 200 countries and territories. The company's STAR Network offersPIN-secured debit acceptance at 1.7 million ATM and retail locations.For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

About Austrian Payment Systems Services

Austrian Payment System Services GmbH (APSS), a leading providerof card-based cashless payments with more than twenty yearsexperience, is a full-service provider, offering a complete range ofpayment transaction services- from acquiring and issuing processing toservice-centre tasks. Today APSS operates the infrastructure forelectronic payment transactions as a neutral partner for all cardorganisations. The network has grown to 7,850 ATMs and some 79,000point-of-sale terminals. Consumers use these devices to effect about125 million cash withdrawals and about 247 million cashless paymenttransactions per year. Further information at www.apss.at.

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