MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Concord EFS, Inc. (NYSE: CE) said it intends to vigorously defend itself against a lawsuit filed by the NYCE Corporation on Jan. 23.
A Concord statement called the suit "totally without merit."
The NYCE suit contends that Concord is breaching the terms of a 1993 agreement between NYCE and Money Access Service (MAC) which, according to NYCE, obligates NYCE and Concord entities to permit financial institutions that participate in both EFT networks to direct how point-of-sale transactions using their cards are routed.
"Contrary to the claims made in the NYCE complaint, Concord is in full compliance with all provisions of the 1993 agreement with NYCE," said Ronald Congemi, president of Concord Network Services.
According to Congemi, Star network routing rules were specifically amended to support the NYCE agreement when Star was acquired by Concord in 2001.
"Star's network rules, which are established by its member financial institutions, support an open and flexible business environment that allows for collaboration, cooperation and the resolution of issues when conflicting network rules come into play," Congemi said. "The NYCE complaint attempts to undermine these rules by improperly extending to the entire Star network the terms of an agreement expressly limited to the small number of financial institutions who are members of both the MAC and NYCE networks."
