News

BofA, WaMu renew agreements with Star; BofA adds PIN debit, other services

September 14, 2004

DENVER - Bank of America, the nation's largest debit card issuer, has a signed letter-of-intent with First Data Corp. that includes an extension of its participation in the Star network, as well as a number of new and expanded services.

Under the agreement, Star will begin to process PIN-secured debit transactions for a portion of Bank of America's portfolio. In addition, a majority of Bank of America ATMs will continue to participate in Star.

The announcement is the second major win for Star in as many weeks. Washington Mutual last week agreed to extend its network relationship with First Data.

Additional services to be provided by other First Data businesses to Bank of America include:

• First Data's REMITCO unit will provide remittance processing services for Bank of America credit card payments.
  
  
• First Data will provide plastics personalization for Bank of America credit and debit card portfolios, including former Fleet credit and debit cards.
  
  
• Bank of America will extend its contract with First Data Voice Services for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and live agent card activation services for its credit and debit card portfolios.
  
  
• TASQ Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Data, will supply point-of-sale  equipment and supplies for Bank of America's merchant acquiring business.
  
  
• Bank of America will extend its current contract with Primary Payment Systems (PPS), a part of the First Data family, for risk management services to combat check, identity and new account fraud.