DENVER, March 10, 2008 - First Data Corp., a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services today announced it has entered into an agreement with Cathay Bank, a California state-chartered bank, to provide merchant services to Cathay Bank.
Cathay Bank is the oldest bank in the United States that was founded by Chinese-Americans. The agreement between Cathay Bank and First Data will enable Cathay Bank to offer a full suite of merchant services and products to its customers including credit, debit, checks and gift cards. First Data will provide merchant payment processing services on behalf of Cathay Bank, and will also supply dedicated sales executives, with Mandarin speaking capabilities, to fully meet the requirements of its growing reach and client base.
"With its roots in the United States, and its understanding of the culture and business practices in Asia, one of the world's fastest growing economies, Cathay Bank is poised to be the bank of choice for companies conducting business between Asia and the United States," said Kim Fitzsimmons, senior vice president, First Data Merchant Sales. "We look forward to working with Cathay Bank to enable them to expand their portfolio of electronic payment offerings to support their network expansion across the United States and Asia."
"With First Data's global electronic payments capabilities, we can concentrate on serving and meeting the dynamic needs of our customers that conduct business between the United States and Asia," said Irwin Wong, Executive Vice President of Cathay Bank.
Cathay Bank has branch locations in 10 of the 12 U.S. cities with among the largest Asian-American populations. It currently has 50 branches in the United States, with operations in seven states and 38 cities. In Greater China, it has a full service branch in Hong Kong and a representative office in Shanghai and in Taipei.
About First Data
First Data Corp. is a leading provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses worldwide. With operations in 38 countries, First Data serves over 5 million merchant locations, 1,900 card issuers and their customers. We power the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. The company's portfolio of services and solutions includes merchant transaction processing services; credit, debit, private-label, gift, payroll and other prepaid card offerings; fraud protection and authentication solutions; receivables management solutions; electronic check acceptance services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce, loyalty and mobile payment solutions. The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance at 2.1 million ATM and retail locations. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.
Media Contact:
Cara Taylor
First Data Corp.
303-967-6367
Cara.taylor@firstdata.com
