Equifax Check Services Wins Award For Artificial Intelligence Application

TAMPA, Aug. 27, 1996 -- Equifax Check Services, the world's largest provider of check acceptance and guarantee services, recently was honored at the 1996 Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) Conference for its use of intelligent technology to solve real-world problems.

Equifax was one of six companies or organizations selected through a world-wide competition and subsequently honored during the IAAI Conference, held in Portland, Oregon.

Equifax Check Services was cited for its development of EASy -- the Expert Authorizations System -- utilizing the ART*Enterprise tool from Brightware Inc., a leader in knowledge technology. The EASy system is a rule-based solution for check authorizations, incorporating decades of expertise in the field, that uses an innovative twist on the standard blackboard architecture. EASy has effectively eliminated authorization errors and provides consistent and replicable decisions.

"By using artificial intelligence and other leading edge technologies, Equifax Check Services is able to bring increased service to the check writing consumer and higher value to the retail community," commented Thomas G. Gordon, senior vice president and general manager, Equifax Check Services. "Equifax sees continued use of artificial intelligence as a key component in our technology strategy for managing risk at the point-of-sale."

Equifax Check Services was chosen for the IAAI award along with Chase Manhattan Bank, Fannie Mae, GTE, J. Sainsbury and Swiss Bank.

Equifax Check Services is part of Equifax Payment Services, a leading provider of check verification/guarantee and card processing services that guaranteed more than $17 billion= worth of checks around the world in 1995. Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), committed to Global Information Leadership for the Information Age, is the leading provider of information services that help businesses grant credit, authorize and process credit card and check transactions, insure lives and property, and control health care cos ts.

Established in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax today employs 14,000 people throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Revenues for the 12 months ended June 30, 1996, totaled $1.7 billion.