OVA Information Systems announced in late April 2004 several acquisitions that will strengthen its position as it moves toward becoming a major third-party payment processor in Europe and continues its domestic expansion.

NOVA, the third-largest processor in the United States, is actively pursuing a strategy of growth both here and abroad. It processes for 650,000 merchants worldwide.

NOVA will purchase the payment processing portfolio of Union Bank of California (UCB) and will enter into a long-term alliance marketing agreement for UCB's referral business. NOVA will now provide credit and debit card processing and customer service to UCB's 10,000 merchants, generating $3 billion in annual processing volume. UCB has 280 branches in California and four in Oregon and Washington. Its holding company, UnionBankCal Corp., operates 21 international facilities.

A European NOVA affiliate, which has been a 50% shareholder of euroConex Technologies, Inc., will purchase the remaining 50% from the Bank of Ireland so that euroConex will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the NOVA affiliate.

This will enable NOVA to take advantage of the changing Euro-pean economic landscape and expand its global reach.

euroConex provides debit and credit card processing services to merchants, directly and through alliances with banking partners in Europe. It also provides multi-currency solutions including dynamic currency conversion for cross-border acquiring.

Through its euroConex affiliate, NOVA will purchase CardPoint from Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK (BZWBK). Poland has the fastest-growing card issuing market in Europe and CardPoint currently has 15% of that merchant market.

NOVA will also purchase Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank's acquiring division from its holding company, Alliance & Leicester plc of the United Kingdom. Through euroConex, NOVA will provide processing services for the bank's current portfolio of 27,000 merchants.

In March 2004, NOVA extended its agreement with UMB Bank for 10 years. UMB Bank has 156 centers in the Midwest; its 9,000 merchants process $1 billion annually.