Equifax To Meet Check Needs Of Three More Retailers

Atlanta, August 19, 1997-- Equifax today announced new nationwide relationships with three retailers for payment solutions for retail merchants. Cache, Hit or Miss and The Bon-Ton Stores have chosen Equifax to provide either check guarantee or PathWays(r) services for their more than 500 locations nationwide.

Equifax will provide automated check authorization and guarantee services for both Cache, an upscale woman's apparel store with more than 150 locations, and Hit or Miss, a discount woman's apparel store with nearly 300 locations. The Bon-Ton Stores, a regional department store chain with 64 stores throughout the Northeast, will use Equifax's state-of-the-art PathWays check management system. PathWays allows retailers to customize check acceptance parameters by store, including such variables as time of day, day of week, check writing patterns and numerous others. In addition, Equifax will provide collection services for Bon-Ton as needed. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

"With check fraud rising 14 percent annually, retailers are increasingly recognizing the need for check guarantee and check management services to protect themselves from fraudulent or bad checks," said Tom Gordon, senior vice president and general manager of Equifax Retail Solutions. "The sophisticated technology and experience Equifax applies allow retailers to accept checks with confidence and pinpoint accuracy to minimize their risks and make their stores more profitable."

Equifax Retail Solutions already is the largest check authorization and guarantee service in the world, handling more than 475,000 check transactions each day and serving some 200,000 retail locations. The new contracts represent the continued expansion of Equifax services within the retail trade, including such merchants as Dayton Hudson, Toys R'Us, Limited and Express and others.

"Equifax is dedicated to providing total financial information and processing solutions to retailers and other industries. And retailers are increasingly looking to Equifax for total solutions to risk management and payment processing," said Lee Kennedy, group executive for Equifax.

Equifax is a world leader in providing financial information and processing solutions, with global operations in consumer and commercial credit information services, payment services, software, modeling, analytics and consulting and direct-to-consumer services. The company serves many industries including banking, finance, retail, credit card, telecommunications and utilities and health care. Equifax was founded in 1899 in Atlanta and today has 10,000 employees around the world. It operates globally in 17 countries, with sales in 40 countries. Equifax (NYSE: EFX) revenues for the 12 months ended June 30, 1997, were just under $1.3 billion.