Wachovia Bank Card Services Picks Equifax's FBS Software

ATLANTA, March 19, 1996 -- Wachovia Bank Card Services has awarded a contract to FBS Software for a comprehensive upgrade of all its main-frame computer software used for credit card processing.

The selection of FBS bucks a recent trend within the industry toward outsourcing transaction processing services and will leave Wachovia with one of the most advanced processing systems in the world when the work is completed.

"FBS and Wachovia are going to partner on the installation of state-of-the-art enhancements to every component of the bank's system," said Gary Shirley, FBS president. "Wachovia today manages a $4.5 billion credit card portfolio and we're going to make that management task easier, faster, more economical and more secure."

The new contract calls for FBS Software to complete the work over the next two years. The project will involve more than 30 staff members from both companies.

"Wachovia certainly is well aware of the trend by many of its competitors toward outsourcing," said Beverly B. Wells, president of Wachovia Bank Card Services. "However, we believe there are real strategic and financial advantages to keeping this function in-house. The software enhancements are going to enable us to provide current and future customers more products and more features within a well-managed cost structure."

Wachovia selected FBS Software after an extensive evaluation of several options, including outsourcing, in-house development and the collaborative arrangement afforded by FBS. The FBS Bankcard System is a flexible, on-line software system for mainframe computers that card processors can tailor to their specific needs. Real-time processing, fraud monitoring, enhanced customer service options and centralized account administration are just a few of the advantages provided by the system.

Wachovia Bank Card Services is an Atlanta-based affiliate of Wachovia Corp., a $45 billion-asset interstate bank holding company with dual headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Atlanta.

Atlanta-based FBS Software develops and licenses mainframe and Unix-based software for payment card, merchant processing and collections. Incorporated in 1986 as First Bankcard Systems, the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equifax in 1994. Leading financial institutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Turkey have turned to FBS for expert and innovative solutions in the collections and electronic payment industries.

Equifax Inc., (NYSE:EFX), committed to Global Information Leadership in the Information Age, is the leading provider of information services that help grant credit, authorize and process credit card and check transactions, insure lives and property and control healthcare costs. 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 Dec. 31, 1995, exceeded $1.6 billion.