First Data Extends Merchant Services Agreement with Sovereign

Multiyear Agreement Continues Successful Partnership

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today announced the company has agreed with Sovereign Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., to extend their existing merchant services agreement. Sovereign and First Data began their cooperation to offer merchant services programs in 2001. Sovereign is one of the top 20 merchant acquirers in the United States with more than 60,000 merchants.



First Data will continue to provide merchant processing services to Sovereign’s business and commercial customers throughout the northeastern United States, allowing Sovereign to offer a full suite of electronic payment products and services including credit, debit, check and gift card programs.



“Sovereign is a premier financial institution with a strong commitment to delivering market-leading products and services to its clients and we look forward to continuing our partnership over the next decade,” said Ed Labry, president of First Data Retail and Alliance Services. “Together with Sovereign, First Data will continue to offer the bank’s merchant customers an innovative portfolio of electronic payment solutions needed to compete in today’s marketplace.”

About Sovereign

Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., is a financial institution with principal markets in the northeastern United States. Sovereign has more than 750 branches, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 9,700 team members. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management and capital markets. Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is a retail and commercial bank based in Spain. At the end of 2008, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and third in the world by profit. Santander has 90 million customers, 14,000 branches – more than any other international bank – and over 170,000 employees. For more information on Sovereign Bank, call 877-SOV-BANK. For additional information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.



About First Data

First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.