European Institutions Drive Growth Through Outsourcing, TSYS Reports

TSYS Honoured for New Products, Processing Support;
Opens New Office in Madrid

Pinched between booming competition and thinning margins, Europe's
multinational financial institutions are evaluating new strategies for
sustained, long-term growth. Increasingly they are finding answers in
outsourcing, a tactic once viewed as a temporary fix better suited for
foreign shores.
Helping decision makers harness the strategic potential of
outsourcing while side-stepping its pitfalls will be a consistent
theme at the 19th Cards & Payments Europe Conference and Expo in
Milan, Italy. Kelley C. Knutson, managing director for TSYS Europe,
will lead the session "Outsourcing: A Strategic Option -- Increase
Growth, Boost Efficiency" on 23 May.
"Outsourcing can be a strategic tool for making your business more
productive and profitable, if you know how and when to take advantage
of it," Knutson says. Historically viewed as a pure cost-savings
choice for non-core products, outsourcing choices have evolved in
scope and complexity. Sourcing options now focus on larger
opportunities for revenue growth and closer alignment of the
outsourcers and their partners.
"Once they earn respect as a trusted agent, outsourcing partners
can provide institutions with a source of innovation, not just
providing support for non-core products," he says. Industry experts
estimate that the typical institution's outsourcing budget will grow
by almost 10 percent this year.
A 20-year veteran of the payments industry, Knutson joined TSYS in
2003. His focus is on client relationships, strategic partners and
future growth in the European market. Knutson has held various
leadership positions in the financial industry, including tenure with
GE Capital and Visa International. Before joining TSYS, Knutson served
as CEO of Clear Money Ltd., a leading aggregator of electronic bill
presentment and payment services in the UK.
TSYS has been nominated for two prestigious honours in the Cards
International Global Awards, to be announced on 23 May in conjunction
with the conference. The first nomination includes separate entries
for "Best New Credit Card Launch" in support of two products: the
"blink" card offered by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and the "2-in-1 card"
offered jointly by the Bank of Ireland and the UK Post Office. The
second nomination is for "Cards Processor of the Year."
Scheduled for 22-24 May at the Milan Marriott Hotel, additional
information about Cards & Payments can be found at www.cpeurope.com.
Separately, TSYS Europe has opened a new office in Madrid, TSYS
Europe SL. Under the leadership of Jose-Luis Rojas, who has served as
director of business expansion in southern Europe since 2003, TSYS
Europe SL will support project management and client relationships in
Spain and the surrounding region. TSYS Europe SL is located at the
following address:

Paseo de la Castellana, 141 planta 8
Edificio Cuzco IV.
Madrid 28046
For more information, contact 00 34 91 572 64 00.

"TSYS considers Spain an important target market, and a key
component of our strategy to expand across Europe," says Rojas, a
26-year veteran of international payments and marketing. Since TSYS
Europe was established in 1999, its operations have grown to include
support of more than 30 million accounts across the European region.

About TSYS

TSYS (www.tsys.com) is one of the world's largest companies for
outsourced payment services, offering a broad range of issuer and
acquirer processing technologies that support consumer finance,
credit, debit and prepaid services for financial institutions and
retail companies in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. Based
in Columbus, Ga., TSYS (NYSE: TSS) is 80 percent held by Synovus
Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV), one of FORTUNE magazine's "Most Admired
Companies" and a member of its "100 Best Companies to Work For" Hall
of Fame. For more information, contact news@tsys.com.