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Mashreq chooses Postilion for new payments switch infrastructure

Implementation replaces existing applications to provide efficiencies and faster delivery of new customer services

By S1
London, United Kingdom, and Dubai, UAE, 14 Oct 2008

Postilion, a leading provider of software solutions for self-service banking and payments and a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE), today announced that Mashreq, the largest privately held bank in the United Arab Emirates, has replaced its existing payment switch infrastructure with Postilion solutions. The new solutions from Postilion are being used to drive the bank's ATM network, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and to introduce new integrated POS services for retail merchants. For Mashreq, this implementation brings operational improvements, financial savings as well as delivering customers a faster, more efficient level of service at the ATM and POS.

Postilion was selected by Mashreq following an extensive investigation of the different payment processing solutions available globally. As the new infrastructure would replace a number of separate applications, it was critical that the system would be able to support all of the bank's existing channels and operate as a single integrated solution. Mashreq chose the Postilion solutions for merchant acquirers and ATM owners to provide the functionality the bank required, while also establishing a flexible platform for the development of future channels and services. Replacing multiple applications with a single integrated solution also provides the bank with the ability to create consolidated reports on payment processing and performance to support better management decision-making.

Mashreq will use Postilion to support its operations across the Middle East region, including the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt. The bank currently has over 200 ATMs and 12 000 POS terminals installed, and the majority of these devices have already been successfully migrated to the Postilion platform.

"Mashreq is dedicated to providing value and innovation to our customers. We have an aggressive strategy for expanding the range of services that we offer,” said Somnath Menon, Head of Operations and Technology for Mashreq. “Using Postilion, Mashreq will be able to deliver ATM and POS services to our customers with greater efficiency and accelerate the introduction of new services.”

“We have been running a series of separate applications to handle our ATM and POS driving within our payment network. Replacing these with one overall integrated solution was a key goal, as it would allow us to reduce our management overhead and improve performance,” commented Alistair Sinclair, CEO of MindscapeIT. “Postilion was the best product on the market that matched our needs. With Postilion, we will have one central system handling payments across all of the channels we support. In this open systems environment, we can quickly add new channels and services to meet the needs of our customers.”

“This was a significant implementation both for Mashreq and Postilion,” said Steve Kirrage, Senior Vice-President and General Manager Middle East, Postilion. “We have established a strong record of delivering innovative payment processing solutions to banks, retailers, and processors in the Middle East region, and recognise the importance of fast and smooth implementations. We are proud to have worked with Mashreq on this successful migration project.”

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Mashreq

Mashreq is the largest private bank in the UAE and also the second oldest. Founded in 1967 as Bank of Oman, the bank has played a pioneering role in the industry, particularly in retail banking. Among its many firsts, it was the first to launch such products as travellers' cheques, credit cards, and ATMs.

It is invariably among the highest performing banks in the region. Last year it recorded a Net Profit of over $470 million from a total operating income of $844 million. At the end of last year its total assets stood at $15.2 billion.

Mashreq has received numerous international awards, particularly for quality management. According to independent research, it has more ISO certifications than any bank in the region by a wide margin.

As a leading financial institution in the UAE, Mashreq aims to be world class in every facet of its business, including its social responsibility to the community it serves. Towards achieving this goal, the bank pays particular attention to recruiting, training, developing, and retaining UAE National employees.

More information is available at www.mashreqbank.com.

Postilion

Postilion, a division of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE), is a leading provider of integrated solutions for self-service banking and payment processing. Our offices, on five continents, serve over 1 500 customers in more than 50 countries. Postilion solutions drive self-service financial transactions and payments, including advanced transactions such as prepay, through Internet access points, ATMs, POS terminals and phones.

More than 100 000 ATMs and 500 000 POS terminals worldwide run on Postilion solutions. In the United States, over 1 250 credit unions and community financial institutions use Postilion solutions. Built on open systems, Postilion solutions provide consolidated management information, card management, 3DES and EMV enablement, and loyalty management. At the forefront of compliance with new regulations and security enhancements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and Visa's Payment Application Best Practices, Postilion can help customers achieve compliance with the latest data security standards developed by the payment card industry. More information is available at www.postilion.com.

S1 Corporation S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE) delivers customer interaction software for financial and payment services and offers unique solution sets for financial institutions, retailers, and processors under three brand names: Postilion, S1 Enterprise and FSB Solutions. Additional information about S1 solutions is available at www.s1.com, www.postilion.com, www.S1enterprise.com, and www.fsb-solutions.com.