London, July 13, 1998 -- The European arm of Equifax, the $1.4bn global information and knowledge based solutions provider, has acquired a 40% stake in Request UK Limited, an innovative consumer transaction service set to revolutionise the buying and selling process for a wide range of consumer products and services.

Request will offer consumers direct access to financial services and other information-based products which best match their profile. At the same time, the providers of those products will be able to exploit highly accurate consumer targeting techniques. The result will be that both buyer and seller will benefit from cost savings achieved by sharing information before forms are filled and paper is processed.

Nick Bevan, Executive Vice President, Equifax, describes the acquisition as "the UK cutting edge to our strategy of becoming a value-adding ‘infomediary’ between buyers and sellers. We will be able to provide companies with better ways to target and acquire the best customers, and empower consumers by giving them more choice in the buying process."

"Request provides companies with a smart new way to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time," said Nick Bevan. "But what’s more exciting is that it’s a win/win business model it empowers consumers by giving them a more informed choice in their buying decisions".

Nick Hall, Director of Marketing at Commercial Union, which has already tested the Request concept, confirms the power of this new direct-to-consumer medium: "This poses a huge opportunity in the blossoming e-commerce market."

The consumer information, client base and operational skills provided by Equifax will give Request UK added momentum as it signs up blue chip financial institutions as product providers, claims Barry Hill, Request UK Limited’s CEO. "Equifax adds credibility and commercial strength to Request’s pioneering development of the ‘infomediary’ business. We couldn’t have hoped for a better operating partner to bring the benefits of the Request Trading Platform to the UK market."

The other 60% of Request UK will be owned by Request Limited, developer of the ‘Request Trading Platform’ technology which underpins the operation.

The ‘Infomediary’

What makes the ‘infomediary’ proposition new and different is that it turns the tables on traditional concepts of data and databases. "Rather than the consumer’s personal data being on the provider’s database, the provider is on the consumer’s database", confirmed Barry Hill. "Request lets the consumer see what deals are out there that fit their personal circumstances before going through the whole process of filling out forms and, often, finding the application isn’t acceptable or the product isn’t right for whatever reason. It reduces the hassle factor for everyone concerned."

Offers from high street providers will be ‘published’ in a multiple access database that can be accessed by call centre agents using Request browsers, or directly by consumers via the Internet.

Notes to Editors

Equifax's worldwide knowledge-based information, transaction processing, consulting and software businesses are designed to bring buyers and sellers together, thus changing the shape of global commerce. Equifax serves the banking, financial, retail, credit card, telecommunications/utilities, automotive, government and health care industries. It is a leading supplier of business information solutions in Canada, the UK, Spain and Latin America. Equifax operates in 17 countries with sales in more than 40 countries. Founded in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax (NYSE: EFX) today has 10,000 employees around the world. Revenues for the 12 months ended March 31, 1998, were more than $1.4 billion. Visit the company's Internet web site at http://www.equifax.com.

Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors could include worldwide and U.S. economic conditions, changes in demand for the company's products and services, risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, and other factors discussed in the 'forward-looking information' section in the management's discussion and analysis included in the company's annual report on for the year ended December 31, 1997.