ATLANTA, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Payments Inc. , a world leader in payment processing services, announced today that it has activated the first of its Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) relationships - EVO, Mercury Payments, North American Bankcard and Total Merchant Services - to acquire Discover Network merchants in a manner consistent with Visa's and MasterCard's acquiring programs.

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When the rollout of this program is finalized, Global's entire merchant portfolio including its ISO channel will have the capability of processing Discover Network card transactions with full customer support services. The company anticipates finalization by the third quarter of calendar 2008.

Global Payments will serve as the Discover Network acquiring program sponsor on behalf of the participating ISOs. As part of this initiative, all of Global's participating ISOs will be able to process Discover Network cards for new merchants as well as enjoy the full financial benefits of participating in the Discover Network program for their existing merchant accounts.

"This is a significant step toward enabling all direct merchants that process with Global to participate in this program. We recently completed the conversion of Global's and Comerica's direct merchant portfolio to Discover Network card processing, and are now implementing the conversion of all our ISO merchants. Soon, all direct merchants that process with Global Payments will enjoy the same seamless experience for these major payment card brands," said Vin Perrelli, president of third party acquiring and chief operating officer for Global Payments' U.S. operations.

"We applaud Global's efforts to accelerate the conversion of its direct and ISO merchant portfolios," said Matt Johanson, vice president of acquirer relations for Discover Financial Services. "Global is a leader in supporting such a large and diverse group of ISOs. We look forward to working with them, as they enable this easy, cost efficient, all-in-one payment processing solution."

Global Payments Inc. is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi- national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Global Payments 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. The company also provides consumer money transfer services from the U.S. and Europe to destinations in Latin America, Morocco, and the Philippines. For more information about the company and its services, visit http://www.globalpaymentsinc.com/.

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties such as product demand, market and customer acceptance, the effect of economic conditions, competition, pricing, development difficulties, costs of capital, continued certification by credit card associations, the ability to consummate and integrate acquisitions, and other risks detailed in Global Payments Inc.'s SEC filings, including the most recently filed Form 10-Q or Form 10-K, as applicable. Global Payments Inc. undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

About Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services is a leading credit card issuer and electronic payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. The company operates the Discover Card, America's cash rewards pioneer, with more than 50 million cardmembers. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the U.S. Its Third-Party Payments business consists of the Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations, and PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks. Discover also operates the Goldfish credit card business in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://www.discoverfinancial.com/.

Phyllis McNeill 770 829.8245 phyllis.mcneill@globalpay.com

CONTACT: Phyllis McNeill of Global Payments Inc., +1-770-829-8245,
phyllis.mcneill@globalpay.com

Web site: http://www.globalpaymentsinc.com/
http://www.discoverfinancial.com/