Riverwoods, Ill. and Denver, Colo.
– July 14, 2006 – Discover Financial Services
LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS),
and First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC), a global leader
in electronic commerce and payment services, today
announced the signing of an agreement whereby
First Data will offer Discover Network card acceptance
as part of an integrated service to small- and
medium-sized merchants. Specific terms and conditions
of the agreement are not being disclosed.
Under this agreement, First Data will provide
processing services to merchants for Discover
Network acceptance that promotes a broader range
of payment options at the point-of-sale. Merchants,
such as restaurants, retailers, and specialty
shops, will receive an easy, cost-effective, all-in-one
payment processing solution with the convenience
of a single source for statements, settlement,
and customer service. First Data sales channels
will have full responsibility for pricing, processing,
settlement, risk management and customer service
for the merchant accounts.
“Today, merchants
are managing separate providers which increases
complexity and may impact costs as they struggle
to balance multiple funding sources and statements,”
says John Shlonsky, president of First Data's
Merchant Alliance Services. “Together with Discover,
we will simplify and integrate payment acceptance
so that small and medium-sized merchants can spend
more time managing their business than they do
managing their payments.”
Merchants will
benefit from Discover Network card acceptance
as early as this summer, when First Data begins
pilot programs in selected geographic areas. First
Data expects to offer the solution on a wider
scale during the fourth quarter of this year.
“Our agreement with First Data represents
another important step we are taking to build
on our strong relationships with merchants,” said
Harit Talwar, executive vice president of Discover
Network. “Small- to mid-sized merchants told us
they want a streamlined, integrated processing
package that includes Discover Network card acceptance.
This agreement helps us fill that need by providing
them with the more complete acceptance solution
they are seeking.”
About Discover
Financial Services Discover
Financial Services LLC, a business unit of Morgan
Stanley (NYSE:MS), operates the Discover Card
with more than 50 million Cardmembers, and the
Discover Network, which is the largest proprietary
credit card network in the U.S. with more than
4 million merchant and cash access locations.
Discover Financial Services also operates the
PULSE ATM/debit network, which serves more than
4,200 financial institutions and includes nearly
250,000 ATMs and approximately 3.4 million POS
terminals. For more information, visit
www.discovercard.com,
www.discovernetwork.com
or
www.pulse-eft.com.
About First Data First
Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) is a leading provider of
electronic commerce and payment solutions for
businesses and consumers worldwide. Serving 4.6
million merchant locations, 1,600 card issuers
and millions of consumers, First Data powers the
global economy by making it easy, fast and secure
for people and businesses around the world to
buy goods and services using virtually any form
of payment. The company's portfolio of services
and solutions includes credit, debit, private-label,
gift and other prepaid card issuing and merchant
transaction processing services; money transfer
services; money orders; fraud protection and authentication
solutions; check guarantee and verification services
through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce
and mobile solutions. Western Union, together
with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, are
leaders in global money transfer, providing people
with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send
money around the world, pay bills and purchase
money orders through a network of over 270,000
agent locations in more than 200 countries and
territories. The company's STAR Network offers
PIN-secured debit acceptance at 1.9 million ATM
and retail locations. For more information, visit
www.firstdata.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Leslie Beyer
Discover
Financial Services
224-405-5154
lesliebeyer@discoverfinancial.com
Jody Soper
First Data Corp.
303-967-6611
jody.soper@firstdatacorp.com