NOVA Acquires SouthTrust Bank Merchant Portfolio; Obtains Extension of Marketing Alliance

February 16, 2005

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2005--

SouthTrust to Deliver $2.3 Billion in Bankcard Volume and 16,000 Merchants to NOVA's Wachovia Bank Processing Alliance

NOVA Information Systems (NOVA) today announced that it has acquired SouthTrust Bank's existing payment processing portfolio from Wachovia Bank and has simultaneously renewed and extended a long-term marketing alliance agreement for Wachovia Bank's merchant referral business. NOVA acquired SouthTrust's merchant processing accounts and will provide processing services, customer service and support operations to SouthTrust's existing 16,000 merchants. New merchant services referrals will be marketed through Wachovia Bank's 3,100 branches located throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, , , , , , , , and . The credit and debit card processing volume from the existing SouthTrust portfolio is expected to generate an additional $2.3 billion annually. Wachovia Bank's parent company, Wachovia Corporation, completed its acquisition of SouthTrust Bank and its parent company, SouthTrust Corporation, in November 2004.

"Wachovia has been pleased with NOVA's continued strong performance in delivering payment processing services and support to our customers," said Terry Terbrueggen, Senior Vice President, Wachovia Bank. "NOVA's robust product portfolio and powerful network infrastructure allow SouthTrust's merchant customers to take advantage of enhanced service levels and new value-added applications."

"NOVA's success stems from our strong commitment to provide the best possible service to our customers," said Pamela Joseph, president, chairman and chief executive officer, NOVA Information Systems. "We're pleased that a financial institution of Wachovia's caliber continues to turn to NOVA as a true merchant processing partner. SouthTrust's merchant customers will benefit from the speed and reliability of the NOVA Network, and will have access to a robust portfolio of solutions, fitting the needs of a wide variety of merchant businesses."

About SouthTrust/Wachovia

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers, with retail operations from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas, and retail brokerage operations nationwide. Wachovia had assets of $493.3 billion, market capitalization of $83.5 billion and stockholders' equity of $47.3 billion at December 31, 2004. Its four core businesses, the General Bank, Capital Management, Wealth Management, and the Corporate and Investment Bank, serve customers primarily in 15 states and Washington, D.C. Its full-service retail brokerage firm, , LLC, serves clients in 49 states and five Latin American countries. Global services are offered through 33 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services also are available through wachovia.com.

About NOVA

NOVA Information Systems, a leader in the payment processing industry, is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB). NOVA partners with financial institutions, independent sales organizations, associations, government agencies and community banks to offer integrated payment processing services to their merchants and retailers. NOVA's products include credit and debit card processing services, software applications, electronic check conversion, gift card solutions and other value-added services to more than 750,000 merchant locations in the United States, Canada and Europe. For more information visit www.novainfo.com.

CONTACT: NOVA Information Systems Michelle Graff, 678-731-5064 br> SOURCE: NOVA Information Systems