Payment acceptance programs beneficial to small business owners:
CUNA offering through Newtek Merchant Solutions eases credit unions into market

October 30, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katye Long, CUNA Communications
(608) 231-4038

Barry Sloane, Newtek Business Services, 212-356-9500, bsloane@newtekbusinessservices.com

MADISON, Wis. - An electronic payment acceptance program, targeted toward the small business owner and designed for credit unions to market to their members, has been introduced by CUNA through a strategic alliance with Newtek Business Services, Inc.

Through this program, merchants will be able to accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and ATM cards for payment with competitive processing rates. According to a study conducted by the Manhattan Consulting Group, merchant payment processing was identified as one of the most important financial products that small businesses use.

CUNA's contract expansion comes only seven months after entering into an agreement with Newtek to provide a small business lending program to credit unions across the United States.

CUNA president and CEO Daniel A. Mica said, "Our alliance with Newtek has the potential for allowing thousands of credit unions to broaden their offerings to include small business and financial services, without adding overhead or overextending their existing resources. With CUNA's expanded alliance with Newtek, members will be enabled to receive quality services for both their member and small business needs, all from one source."

Barry Sloane, chairman and CEO of Newtek Business Services added, "We believe that our agreement with CUNA will allow us to provide exceptional value and significantly penetrate the small business members of the association's 9,000 member credit unions. By making both the loan product from Newtek Small Business Finance and the merchant processing service from Newtek Merchant Solutions available to CUNA members we are able to reduce our overall cost of customer acquisition. CUNA is a superior alliance partner and this agreement allows us to further accomplish our mutual objectives."

To learn more about CUNA's strategic alliance with Newtek, call Julie Esser, product manager for CUNA's department of strategic alliances, at (800) 356-9655, ext. 4213.

With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association serves more than 90% of America's 10,000 credit unions, which are owned by more than 83 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives where people are worth more than money. For more information, visit www.cuna.org.

Newtek Business Services, Inc. (www.newtekbusinessservices.com) is a premier provider of business services and financial products to the small-business market. Newtek Business Services invests in and provides financial, management and technological services for small businesses throughout the country.

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