TSYS Finalizes Expanded Agreement With Bank of America

COLUMBUS, GA – TSYS has added five years to its current agreement with Bank of America to provide exclusive processing services through 2014. The expanded relationship covers all consumer- and commercial-credit Visa and MasterCard accounts issued by Bank of America, as well as the recently acquired portfolio of FleetBoston Financial Corp.

“This extension reaffirms the value that TSYS delivers to Bank of America and its customers every day. We’re proud to be a real partner with such a world-class organization, and we look forward to helping Bank of America be even more successful,” says Philip W. Tomlinson, chief executive officer for TSYS.

Bank of America ranks as the No. 4 card issuer in the United States, with a combined portfolio of more than $53.8 billion in receivables, according to the most recent ranking in The Nilson Report.

Through its forerunner institutions, Bank of America is considered among the longest-running TSYS client relationships. Bank of America also was one of the first institutions to switch to TS2®, which services more cardholder accounts for the top 15 institutions than any other processing system.

TSYS also processes Bank of America’s merchant accounts through Vital Processing Services, a joint venture with Visa U.S.A. TSYS recently announced an agreement with Visa to acquire its 50-percent equity stake in Vital Processing. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter.

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail-banking offices, more than 16,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 12 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BAC”.

About TSYS
TSYS brings integrity and innovation to the world of electronic payment services as the integral link between buyers and sellers in this rapidly evolving universe. Synovus owns an 81-percent interest in TSYS. For more information, contact news@tsys.com.

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding TSYS’ expectation that the closing of the Vital transaction will take place in the first quarter of 2005. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this press release and which are beyond TSYS’ ability to control or to predict include the failure of Visa and/or TSYS to satisfy all closing conditions and obtain regulatory approval in order for the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2005. We believe that these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations.