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11/24/2003
Planet Payment Announces a Merchant Solution Partnership with
Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions to Offer "Dynamic" Credit Card Currency Conversion Services
Innovative payment service allows retailers and other merchants to earn additional revenue and increase customer satisfaction by performing purchases from foreign customers in their home currencies at the time of sale
Long Beach, NY — November 20, 2003 — Planet Payment announced today that Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions, the electronic transaction processing division of Fifth Third Bank (NASDAQ:FITB), has formed a strategic partnership with Planet Payment to develop and deploy time-of-sale, or “dynamic”, currency conversion services to Fifth Third’s merchant customers, particularly those in the retail, hospitality and e-commerce sectors. Fifth Third is the industry’s fifth largest merchant acquirer (The Nilson Report, March 2003). It is anticipated that the currency conversion service will be available towards the end of the first quarter 2004. Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions will initially focus deployment of the currency conversion service to its leading retail merchant customers, from which there is a strong demand for the service. Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions’ new currency conversion service identifies a transaction from a merchant’s foreign customer and displays the transaction in the customer’s local currency before the customer has completed the transaction. Planet Payment, a leader in the burgeoning new field of dynamic currency conversion, provides the conversion at an exchange rate that is generally more favorable than that which would be offered by the customer’s credit card provider.
The customer is presented with the choice of completing the transaction in the merchant’s currency or the customer’s home currency. If the customer chooses to pay in his home currency, the merchant’s point-of-sale solution will print a receipt including transaction details in that currency. The cardholder will be billed on his credit card statement in the exact amount that appeared on the receipt, while the merchant’s financial accounting and reporting will remain in its currency. Historically, a foreign customer paying with a credit card at a Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions merchant could only pay in the merchant’s currency, with the customer’s credit card provider performing the conversion after the transaction is completed, at an exchange rate not known to the customer. The merchant’s foreign customer does not learn the final cost of a transaction until receiving a billing statement at the end of the month. Planet Payment’s dynamic currency conversion service addresses this problem by presenting the customer with the information and ability to make an informed choice of currency in which to complete a transaction, while still at the point-of-sale, in full compliance with applicable Visa® and MasterCard® regulations. “Dynamic currency conversion will be one of the most important new developments in the merchant acquiring business in 2004,” said Randall L. Haaff, Senior Vice President, Fifth Third Bank. “Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions processes transactions for some of the leading retailers in the country. These merchants have been seeking new ways to increase revenues while also enhancing the customer’s shopping experience. Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions’ new dynamic currency conversion service enables our merchants to provide foreign customers a more personalized purchasing experience, while simultaneously earning additional revenue on each transaction.” Mr. Haaff continued, “We chose Planet Payment because we believe their dynamic currency conversion solution is the most suitable for our merchants. Planet Payment’s relationships with some of the leading point-of-sale solution providers and gateway companies will ensure easy implementation for our clients. As a leader in the development of dynamic currency conversion for the payment industry, we feel comfortable entrusting our clients to Planet Payment.” About Planet Payment™
Planet Payment™ is the trade name for Planet Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. A specialty multi-currency payment processor since 1999, Planet Payment has become a market leader in the burgeoning new field of point-of-sale, or "dynamic", currency conversion, a service in which a credit card transaction is converted from the currency in which the merchant offers its goods into the currency in which the customers' credit card is billed at the time of sale. Planet Payment provides its dynamic currency conversion service on behalf of merchant “acquiring” banks and processors that participate in Planet Payment’s program. For more information about Planet Payment, please contact us at 516.670.3200, via email at info@planetpayment.com, or visit www.planetpayment.com.
About Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions is one of the nation’s largest providers of credit, debit, EBT, ACH and check acceptance services. Established in 1973, Fifth Third's high-end in-house processing capabilities offer an unparalleled combination of flexibility, reliability, experience, and proactive support. Fifth Third innovations include the development of JEANIE®, the nation's first modern ATM network and Fifth Third DirectSM, the industry-leading interactive, Internet-based back-office support system. As one of the four main businesses operated by Fifth Third Bancorp, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions processes 8.2 billion ATM and POS transactions per year for more than 194,000 merchant locations and 1,400 financial institutions worldwide. More information may be found at www.53.com.
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