News from the Wire

First Data expands into Pakistan

Friday, October 31, 2008 — 12:02:29 (EDT)

Karachi, Pakistan, Oct. 30, 2008 -- First Data, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services, today announced the opening of an office in Karachi, Pakistan, and the appointment of Mr. Khurram Gul Agha as its country manager.

Entry into the fast growing Pakistan market reflects First Data's strategy of developing a local presence in major markets around the world to deliver its global payments solutions. First Data offers a full range of payment card and loan processing services, merchant acquiring solutions, ATM and point-of-sale management, fraud and risk management as well as other value-added services to Pakistan's financial institutions and major retail organizations.

Brian Quarrie, managing director of First Data in the Middle East, commented, "A buoyant economy in Pakistan has driven strong growth in consumer finance during the last five years, with card spending growing at more than 30 percent per year in the last three years. Opening the office in Pakistan demonstrates our commitment to this emerging market."

Mr. Agha is a seasoned executive with deep knowledge of Pakistan's payments and collections market. He specializes in transactional banking for the corporate and retail sectors. Mr. Agha joins First Data from UBL where he was the executive vice president responsible for cash management, financial institutions and home remittances. He attended Binghamton University in the United States, where he majored in computer science and mathematics. He has previously worked for Citibank and TCS Pakistan.

The Pakistan business will be a part of First Data's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations.

About First Data

First Data is a global technology leader in information commerce. The company processes transaction data of all kinds, harnesses the power of that data and delivers innovations in secure infrastructure, intelligence and insight for its customers. With operations in 37 countries, First Data serves more than 5.4 million merchant locations and more than 2,000 card issuers and their customers. It powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. The company's portfolio of services and solutions includes merchant transaction processing services; credit, debit, private-label, gift, payroll and other prepaid card offerings; fraud protection and authentication solutions; electronic check acceptance services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce and mobile payment solutions. The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance at 2.1 million ATM and retail locations. Through First Data's centers of excellence, such as security, analytics, customer loyalty and mobile payments, it offers data-driven commerce solutions for customers around the globe. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com .

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Source: Company press release.