Contact:
Western Union
Wendy Carver-Herbert
303-967-6416
wendy.carver@firstdatacorp.com
Online Auction Payment Processor Extends Leadership in Next Generation
Payments
DENVER - (July 19, 2001) - Western Union, one of the world’s leading money
transfer companies and an innovator in the field of electronic
person-to-person money transfer transactions 130 years ago, announced that
BidPay.com, Inc. (www.bidpay.com) is now the newest member of the Western
Union family of products and services. BidPay.com is a top Internet
person-to-person (P2P) payment service option for online auction users.
The BidPay.com® patent-pending technology facilitates online auction
payments quickly and conveniently by allowing an online auction buyer to pay
for winning bids with a Western Union branded money order* purchased via the
Internet. As a part of the BidPay.com service package, the company processes
the buyer’s order and then notifies the seller and buyer, via e-mail, that
the money order payment has been processed and mailed directly to the
seller.
BidPay.com is one of the few auction payment methods to incorporate the use
of a money order as the payment instrument, and differs from many other
Internet P2P players by using a buyer pays business model. Buyers pay a fee
to purchase BidPay’s services including the money order, and merchants and
auction sellers pay no transaction fees.
“BidPay’s a package of services has extended the application of the
traditional money order into a viable online auction payment solution. As a
new economy business, BidPay has demonstrated strong performance with a
buyer pays model that is working well for both buyers and sellers,” said
Mike Yerington, president for Western Union North America. “The integration
of BidPay into Western Union’s service family provides opportunities to
leverage the trusted reputation of the Western Union brand and the support
of other First Data companies to grow the business through an already
established presence in the Internet auction payment market.”
In existence since April 1999, the BidPay.com service is listed as a payment
option on more than 600,000 auction seller’s sites and continues to grow
monthly. Western Union, a subsidiary of First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC),
acquired BidPay.com earlier this year and will relaunch the BidPay.com site
this week with the company’s branding. The new service, branded Western
Union® BidPay (www.bidpay.com), will offer enhanced customer service.
“BidPay complements Western Union’s other person-to-person payment services
and is consistent with our vision of providing a broad range of Internet
payment and processing choices to our ever-growing consumer base,” Yerington
added.
Western Union BidPay is the latest in a series of new Internet services
offered to consumers by Western Union, which include:
* Western Union Money Transfer®: offers consumers an online money
transfer service with immediate cash payout at more than 100,000 agent
locations in more than 170 countries and territories. (www.westernunion.com)
* Western Union* MoneyZapSM: enables individuals and businesses to
send, request and receive money online. (www.moneyzap.com)
* Western Union* Gift GramSM: provides consumers a personalized way to
send the gift of money with a specially designed Western Union* Gift CheckSM
that is purchased online and sent directly to the recipient with a
customized message via a variety of ground delivery options.
(www.westernunion.com)
* Western Union* Quick Collect*: offers consumers the ability to make
a wide variety of bill payments to more than 4,000 billers online quickly
and hassle free. (www.westernunion.com)
About Western Union
Western Union Financial Services, Inc., a subsidiary of First Data
Corporation (NYSE: FDC), is a worldwide leader in consumer money transfer
services. The company provides rapid money transfer service through a global
Agent network. Consumers can quickly, safely and reliably transfer money at
more than 100,000 Agent locations in more than 185 countries and territories
using the Western Union money transfer network. Famous for its pioneering
telegraph service, the original Western Union dates back to 1851 and
introduced electronic money transfer service in 1871. Western Union is
celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2001. For more information please visit
the company`s web site at www.westernunion.com
About First Data
First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with global headquarters in Denver, powers the
global economy. Serving approximately 2.6 million merchant locations, more
than 1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data makes it
easier, faster and more secure for people and businesses to buy goods and
services, using virtually any form of payment: credit, debit, smart card,
stored-value card or check at the point-of-sale, over the Internet or by
money transfer. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site
at www.firstdata.com.
* Western Union branded money orders are issued by First Data’s Integrated
Payment Systems, Inc.
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