Importantly the new five-year agreement, effective in January 2008, will allow subscribing Cuscal customers to automatically roll over existing processing and terminal driving services and gain access to new services. The renewal will bring the partnership between Cuscal and First Data to a 25-year business milestone.

John Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer, Cuscal, commented on the agreement: "At Cuscal we set high standards for our business relationships and expect to always deliver the best results to our partners. First Data's proven payments expertise during the past 20 years and its commitment to keeping our business focused on future outcomes proved to be the winning combination. We believe that First Data is the right payments solutions partner to move forward with our business. The First Data solution complements our financial services package to Australia's financial community, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership."

"Cuscal is our foundation client in Australia with a relationship spanning two decades," said Peter Wright, Managing Director, First Data International, Australia and New Zealand. "We are extremely proud of our capabilities in retaining and extending this business. We believe that Cuscal's continued confidence in our partnership is a reflection of First Data's ability to meet the evolving needs of its clients."