6/14/2001

Ohio Restaurant Merchants Get Busy with E-Business

COLUMBUS, OHIO (June 14, 2001) - The Ohio Restaurant Association will be hosting "The New Global Merchant Forum," a nationwide interactive and instructive program on the fundamentals of e-commerce, to be held next week at the Hyatt on Capitol Square. Co-sponsored by American Express ® and Planet Payment, The New Global Merchant Forum provides valuable information for merchants who want to bring their businesses on-line.

Attendees to the Forum will gain valuable insight from industry experts who know how to develop successful E-commerce businesses - everything from building an Internet storefront, to creating an effective marketing strategy, to protecting businesses from credit card fraud.

"It's not e-commerce if you can't get paid," says Philip Beck, the CEO of Planet Payment, one of the sponsors of the Forum. "Payment is one of the most fundamental aspects of e-business, yet it is often the most overlooked. This Forum, which we hold in cities nationwide, provides merchants with the opportunity to learn about the basic underlying concepts for e-commerce."

The New Global Merchant Forum: A Seminar on the Fundamentals of e-commerce, will be held on Wednesday, June 20, 2001, Hyatt on Capitol Square, Columbus Ohio, beginning at 8:00 a.m. All who attend this forum will be eligible to win two free round trip airline tickets.

For more information please contact: Laura Matthews at the Ohio Restaurant Association, (614) 442-3535