eFunds Acquires WildCard Systems

he two Companies signed a distribution agreement in November of 2004 and have since signed two tier one financial institution deals under eFunds' existing alliance with MasterCard International. The partnership has also validated the market demand for prepaid payment products, and has proven the Companies' ability to work together to deliver an integrated debit and prepaid solution.

The addition of Wildcard's prepaid and stored value expertise to eFunds' debit processing capabilities is a complementary extension of the Company's current value proposition. As the industry moves from paper to electronic payments, there is growing demand for innovative solutions such as stored value systems, especially in financial services where eFunds already serves more than 9,000 clients across 80 countries.

"We are excited to welcome WildCard to team eFunds -- this is a natural fit," said Paul Walsh, chairman and chief executive officer of eFunds. "The complementary nature of debit and prepaid brings a powerful value proposition to the financial institution, retail and other issuer markets served by both companies. This acquisition is an important step in the execution of eFunds' strategic plan to build breadth into our electronic payments offering."

"Our combined companies bring the agility and responsiveness of WildCard with eFunds' significant financial institution franchise, financial stability, technological scalability and worldwide resources," said Larence Park, CEO and co-founder of WildCard Systems. "Our integrated debit and prepaid offering moves customers closer to a single 'payment hub,' streamlining the management of their consumer accounts. Customers can now come to one trusted provider for a full suite of debit and prepaid solutions."