Equifax Joint Venture In India To Offer Innovative Card Processing

Company Accelerates Global Expansion to Asia

ATLANTA and MUMBAI, INDIA, October 21, 1996 -- Equifax today announced a joint venture start-up it plans in India that will become the first company in that country to offer credit card processing services to merchants and banks.

The new venture, as yet unnamed, will be a 50-50 partnership between Equifax and a subsidiary of the Venture Infotek group of India. It will become the first third-party card processor doing business in India, with world-class facilities and practices. India has an annual 45 percent growth rate in its credit card market, even by conservative estimates.

"Equifax and Venture Infotek believe the banks and merchants of India are ready to consider outsourcing their processing operations because they need to manage rapid growth, as well as offer a full line of payment system products, options and services," said Thomas F. Chapman, Equifax executive vice president. "Equifax has demonstrated in the United States its ability to offer this level of service to its customers and their cardholders and we’re confident -- particularly given the skills and experience o f our partner -- that we can do the same successfully in India and elsewhere in Asia."

India is the world’s second largest country and the largest democracy with a population of more than 900 million. Its middle class is growing rapidly; the country has opened its doors to foreign investment; there now are more than 75,000 VISA and MASTERCARD outlets, and India’s credit card base now exceeds 1.8 million accounts. That total is expected to surge to 10 million by the year 2000.

Venture Infotek is India’s foremost supplier of credit card-related products and services with extensive knowledge and contacts throughout the Indian market. Equifax and Venture Infotek will rely on card processing software developed by Equifax’s FBS Software, the world’s leading developer of both UNIX client/server and mainframe processing software engines. Equifax and Venture Infotek are building a processing center in Mumbai, India, with a client/server hardware system that will run on FBS’ MultiXpac UNIX software platform.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), through its Financial Services Group, is the world’s leading provider of information solutions that help grant credit and authorize and process credit card and check transactions. Established in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax posted revenues for the 12 months ended September 30, 1996, exceeding $1.7 billion.