Credit Union Leaders ENCORE(R) and CO-OP Network Announce Intent to Merge; Agreement Will Add Nearly 10 Million Transactions Per

ONTARIO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2006--ENCORE(R) Electronic Services Cooperative, Inc. and CO-OP Network announced today that they have executed a letter of intent to merge. The agreement, which will allow current ENCORE members to become CO-OP Network shareholders, will be finalized during upcoming months.

ENCORE (www.encore.coop), a Credit Union Service Organization based in Falls Church, Virg., offers electronic funds transfer (EFT)/Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) services, shared branching, merchant and card services to its credit union members. The cooperative, owned by 124 member credit unions, became a CO-OP Network member/shareholder in April 2003.

"We aligned with CO-OP Network today because we wanted to increase our organizational and financial strength," says ENCORE President/CEO Tom Reed.

According to Bob McClosky, Chairman of ENCORE and CEO of Market USA Federal Credit Union, "Our organizations are similar in the services provided and we expect to achieve significant economies of scale that will benefit the owners of both organizations."

This new agreement with ENCORE marks the seventh merger for CO-OP Network in the last decade. During this time, CO-OP Network has grown from 329 California and Nevada member credit unions with 1,400 ATMs to nearly 2,000 member credit unions across the country with access to 25,000 surcharge-free ATMs (6,000 deposit-taking). The scope of the network stretches across 50 states, nine Canadian provinces and ten countries.

"Our partnership with ENCORE is one of our largest to date in terms of transaction volume, with ENCORE processing almost 10 million transactions per month," says Stan Hollen, CEO of CO-OP Network. "It's wonderful that we can continue enhancing our relationship and working together to better serve our members."

Post merger, ENCORE will operate as a division of CO-OP Network. Initial focus will be on continuity of service for both EFT and shared branch processing to current member credit unions. Additionally, the ENCORE division will provide leadership on merchant and card services.

CO-OP Network (www.co-opnetwork.org), established in 1981 and located in Ontario, Calif., is wholly-owned by its credit union shareholders and provides volume discounts on products and services that include ATM network access, full processing, debit services and shared branching. With 1,835 credit union members, 25,000 surcharge-free ATMs, 6,000 deposit-taking ATMs, 100 million-plus monthly transactions and 24 million cardholders, CO-OP Network is the No. 1 credit union EFT network and processor in the U.S. financial services industry. CO-OP Network membership has access to over 800,000 ATMs worldwide through links to NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, Pulse and Plus.

Contacts
for CO-OP Network
PCGCampbell
Jeff Green, (310) 224-4961
(310) 291-1977 (cell)
jgreen@pcgcampbell.com