TSYS, Wachovia Reach Agreement for Payment Services

The initial product launch is scheduled for early summer. Wachovia plans to launch its card program using TS2, the industry's leading payment-processing engine, and a range of other portfolio-management services provided by TSYS.

"It's a privilege to welcome Wachovia to the TSYS family," says Philip W. Tomlinson, chairman and chief executive officer of TSYS. "Wachovia has earned a tremendous reputation as one of the nation's premier financial-services companies, and we're excited to be chosen as the trusted agent for its card portfolio."

"We are extremely pleased to partner with a company that is a clear technological leader in the credit-card processing industry," says Steven G. Boehm, president of Wachovia Card Services. "Our company has decided to re-enter the card-issuing business to provide Wachovia customers with outstanding products and stellar customer service. TSYS is a company we can build a trusting relationship with, just like those we work to create with every Wachovia customer. Strong partnerships are critical to us as we build an innovative payment-card business for the 21st century."

Until recently, Wachovia had processed its consumer-credit card portfolio through an agent-bank agreement with the former MBNA Corp. The company conducted an in-depth analysis of its credit-card business options after the announcement that Bank of America would acquire MBNA and determined that issuing its own credit cards directly would ensure that it continued to provide industry-leading service to its customers and the best returns to its shareholders.