Transaction Network Services First for Data Services with First Data I

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors

    RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2005--Transaction Network Services S.A. (TNS), the Spanish subsidiary of TNS, Inc. (NYSE:TNS), today announced that Europe's leading card-issuer and payments processor, First Data, has appointed TNS as its sole provider of dial-up connectivity in Spain.
    The three-year contract with First Data Iberica (FDI), the subsidiary for Spain and Portugal, will make FDI's payment processing services available at 18,000 privately owned point-of-sale terminals across the country.
    TNS will provide FDI with dial-up connectivity anticipated to transmit millions of dial-up transactions per year between the company's headquarters in Madrid, 10,500 terminals in newsagents and tobacconists, and 3,000 terminals in gas and petrol service stations in Spain.
    Using its private network, TNS will also provide back-up services to the 1,500 GPRS terminals that FDI will introduce this year to speed up processing of payments and to reduce the costs of processing payments in remote rural locations.
    The contract was awarded in a fiercely contested tender on the basis of network availability and coverage. TNS' network is managed 24 hours per day, 365 days per year from operating centers in the U.K. and U.S.
    Jose Luis Arias, First Data Iberica managing director commented: "The switch to TNS will help First Data to retain its market-leading position in Spain. It means we can give retail outlets fast and cost-effective processing of payments and the reassurance that terminals will always be available. We were impressed by TNS' willingness to accommodate remote locations and to add points-of-presence to its network."
    The contract builds on an existing long-term relationship between TNS and First Data in France, Germany, Ireland, the U.K. and U.S.
    Luis Muniz, managing director, TNS (Spain) commented: "We are delighted to be extending the relationship with First Data into Spain. FDI customers will see immediate benefits. Over time, the TNS network will give FDI the flexibility to accommodate growing transaction volumes and to support the extension of new technologies such as GPRS and DSL."
    FDI is part of Europe's largest provider of card-issuing, merchant acquiring and payment services, the company provides services to 4 million customers, who own a card issued by the company.

    About TNS:

    Transaction Network Services is one of the leading providers of business-critical, cost-effective data communications services for transaction-oriented applications. TNS provides rapid, reliable and secure transaction delivery platforms to enable transaction authorisation and processing across several vertical markets and trading communities.
    Since its inception in 1990, TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks, each designed specifically for the transport of transaction-oriented data. TNS' networks support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods. TNS' network technologies have been deployed in the United States and internationally, and TNS' networks have become preferred networks servicing the trading community, wireless and wireline carriers, and the card processing and dial-up automated teller machine markets. For further information about TNS' transaction solutions, please refer to www.tns-international.com
    The statements and information contained in this press release that are not descriptions of historical fact may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond TNS' control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or performance and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. TNS disclaims any obligation to update or correct any forward-looking statements made herein due to the occurrence of events after the issuance of this press release.

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CONTACT: TNS, Inc. Mike Murphy, 703-453-8550 mmurphy@tnsi.com

KEYWORD: VIRGINIA PORTUGAL SPAIN INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING PRODUCT MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: TNS, Inc.

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