Global Payments and Planet Payment Announce Multi-Currency Agreements for North America

ATLANTA and LONG BEACH, N.Y., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leader in electronic transaction payment processing, and Planet Payment, Inc. (LSE: AIM: PPT and PPTR; OTCQX: PLPM), a leading multi-currency payment and data processor, today announced agreements to provide multi-currency processing services. The agreements include the offering of Global HomeCurrencyPay™, an innovative multi-currency processing solution powered by Planet Payment, to Global Payments' base of ISO and merchant customers in the United States and Canada.

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Global HomeCurrencyPay will offer significant value-added services to merchants, allowing their customers the flexibility to process transactions in the cardholders' home currencies while knowing the exact purchase amounts before the statements arrive, as well as reducing processing costs for overseas card transactions.  Multi-currency Pricing will provide merchants the opportunity to attract more international customers with the ability to view pricing and pay in many foreign currencies. These solutions also provide Global Payments with a sales edge in a highly-competitive market by supplying a dynamic new tool intended to improve product offerings, expand merchant portfolios and enhance merchant loyalty.

Unlike other products, the Global Payments and Planet Payment solutions enable merchants to participate through the ease and convenience of a standard merchant account, in the merchant's local currency.  They continue to receive all funding from Global Payments in U.S. or Canadian Dollars with the same funding schedule as their domestic transaction activity, avoiding complications and funding delays.

These agreements announced today expand the current relationship between Global Payments and Planet Payment dating back to November 2007 covering the provision of the Global HomeCurrencyPay service in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Philippines.  

"Global Payments continually aims to offer its merchants and ISOs superior products and solutions and we are very excited to offer Global HomeCurrencyPay, powered by Planet Payment to our customers," said Sid Singh, Vice President, Corporate Product for Global Payments Inc. "Global Payments has been offering Global HomeCurrencyPay to its merchants in Asia Pacific since 2007, with positive market reaction and substantial merchant uptake in the region."  

"The adoption of Planet Payment's multi-currency processing services has increased dramatically over recent years as more merchants around the world view the services as powerful tools to help improve sales, customer satisfaction, and net profits," said Philip Beck, Chairman and CEO of Planet Payment.  "As a provider of quality payment solutions to the U.S. and Canadian business communities, we are excited to partner with Global Payments, one of the leaders and innovators in the field."

About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.  Global Payments, a Fortune 1000 company, offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management.  Visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com for more information about the company and its services.

About Planet Payment

Planet Payment's Common shares trade in the UK on AIM under the symbols PPT for unrestricted Common shares and PPTR for Reg S Common shares and in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol PLPM.

Planet Payment is a leading international payment and data processor, providing banks and their merchants with innovative solutions to accept, process and reconcile payments, anytime, anywhere and in any currency. Our customer base of more than 45 acquiring banks and processors stretches from North America, to the Middle East, to Asia Pacific, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and India.

Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information on the Company and its services. For up-to-date information follow Planet Payment on Twitter at @PlanetPayment or join Planet Payment's page on Facebook.

SOURCE Global Payments Inc.