GovConnect Offers Enterprise Payment Engine for Government Entities: Simplified Payment Services Will Save States Money

GovConnect, a leader in digital service delivery solutions, consulting and payment processing for governments, announced today it has developed an enterprise payment engine customized to meet the needs of state and local governments. This solution, PayPointSM, allows states, cities and municipalities to consolidate their payment processes across all agencies.

CINCINNATI, OH (PRWEB) April 28, 2004--GovConnect, a leader in digital service delivery solutions, consulting and payment processing for governments, announced today it has developed an enterprise payment engine customized to meet the needs of state and local governments. This solution, PayPointSM, allows states, cities and municipalities to consolidate their payment processes across all agencies.

PayPoint provides states and cities the needed payment system for their agencies and departments to integrate with the government portal or gateway to services. This enterprise-wide payment system approach eliminates the costs and complexities of separate departments contracting their own payment system. It also enables volume discounts for enterprise-wide transaction processing. The system possesses customizable enterprise management tools adaptable to the unique needs of the public sector. In addition, it is built to accommodate a variety of channels such as telephone, Web and point-of-sale that can either be developed by the agency or provided by GovConnect as hosted Web access services.

With the GovConnect PayPoint solution, governments can direct the collection of fees and payments for all agencies through a single payment engine, which ensures proper handling of all receipts from businesses and individuals. Each agency or department can manage their particular payment type, such as payment for a drivers license, utility bill, permit, delinquent taxes, facility reservation, vital record copy, etc. They can also determine the payment methods accepted for each type of transaction, such as a credit card or electronic check. The GovConnect PayPoint solution provides easy integration with the state or citys merchant service provider for credit card payments, processing of electronic checks, and back-end systems for account updates and accounts receivable reporting.

GovConnect is an operating company of First Data (NYSE: FDC), a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services. Its PayPoint solution brings the scale and expertise of First Data to the market, offering best-in-class security, reliability, scalability, redundancy, and disaster recovery.

First Data and GovConnect have processed billions of dollars of payments for companies and governmental entities. GovConnects innovative, state-of-the-art technology solutions are currently in place in 46 states, and PayPoint is being implemented by at least two jurisdictions.

About GovConnect

With more than 25 years of experience, GovConnect (www.govconnect.com) is a leading provider of electronic service delivery solutions for government agencies from strategy to implementation. GovConnect has helped agencies across the United States automate millions of transactions that result in the electronic transfer of trillions of dollars in revenue annually. Services from GovConnect include service modernization through the effective deployment of technology, professional services from experienced public sector consultants, payment processing strategies and business process outsourcing services to support government operations. GovConnect is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a subsidiary of govONE Solutions, LP. govONE Solutions is an operating company of an emerging payments leader, eONE Global, LP (www.eoneglobal.com), a leader in the emerging payment technologies and systems spanning the government, mobile and enterprise marketplaces, and majority-owned by First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC).

About First Data

First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with global headquarters in Denver, helps power the global economy. As a leader in electronic commerce and payment services, First Data serves approximately 3.5 million merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. With 30,000 employees worldwide, the company provides credit, debit, smart card and stored-value card issuing and merchant transaction processing services; Internet commerce solutions; money transfer services; money orders; and check processing and verification services spanning the globe. Its Western Union and Orlandi Valuta money transfer networks include approximately 182,000 Agent locations in more than 195 countries and territories. For more information, please visit the companys Web site at www.firstdata.com.