PRESS RELEASES

Media Contact: Karen Kitzmiller
(704) 374-2026

May 01, 2000
First Union Introduces Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) for its Commercial Credit Card Customers

CHARLOTTE, NC - First Union has announced a service for its corporate and purchasing card customers to receive and pay their credit card bills online. This new service will provide First Union's customers with increased operating efficiency and additional expense control. The expanded EBPP offering also will bring the benefits of B2B electronic bill processing to the corporate marketplace, electronically linking buyers with their suppliers to conduct business online.

"First Union works in partnership with our commercial card customers to drive down the cost of the purchasing and payment process," said Susan Walker, President of the Commercial Card Division. "Internet online billing and payment give our customers control, security and flexibility."

First Union has completed a pilot of this service and is in the process of rolling it out to all of its 1,700 corporate and purchasing card customers. The Business-to-Business (B2B) EBPP service provides robust, secure functionality, which includes:
Online enrollment through www.firstunion.com/expensecontrol
Detailed online statements with dynamic sort options,
Downloadable statements to Accounts Payable or General Ledger Systems,
Up to 12 rolling months of online statement history (with multiple billing frequencies), and
Customer-initiated ACH payments (including partial and multiple payments).
"The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's use of the corporate purchasing card has grown three-fold since last summer to nearly 600 card holders," said Katherine Marlow, purchasing card coordinator for UNC Chapel Hill. "The ability to view and download our statements, and to pay the balance electronically has dramatically improved our cash flow management."

Additionally, the new B2B service offers enhanced customer service. "Through our online customer care, customers can send e-mail inquiries to financial professionals and are guaranteed a personal response from an EBPP expert for payment inquiries, statement research items and general questions," Walker said.

"In late 1999 First Union announced the launch of its EBPP service for billers that are sending monthly bills or statements to consumers," said Mark Havlik, VP and manager of global electronic payments for First Union. "Today, with the rollout of our commercial card effort, we have expanded our EBPP capability into the B2B marketplace. This exciting broadening of our product suite of E-commerce solutions allows us to meet the needs of even more billers."

About First Union Corporation
First Union (NYSE:FTU), with $253 billion in assets at December 31, 1999, is a leading provider of financial services to 16 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices in 12 East Coast states and the District of Columbia and full-service brokerage offices in 41 states. Online banking products and services can be accessed through www.firstunion.com

firstunion.com provides individuals and businesses comprehensive information on financial products, services and planning tools to meet a broad spectrum of needs. The web site also contains company information for customers, shareholders and site visitors. First Union offers a wide range of customer-focused online banking services that cater to more than one million online banking and online brokerage customers. firstunion.com is a key, integrated delivery channel that complements First Union's ATM, First Union Direct, and extensive financial center and brokerage network, allowing customers to bank when, where and how they choose.

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