New Payroll Card Offers Commercial Clients Additional Payroll Choices

PRNewswire, June 17, 2002

Bank of America announced today an enhancement to the company's existing CashPay payroll card,which enables companies and employees to use prepaid card technology ratherthan a paper paycheck process. Since 1998, Bank of America has issued CashPay cards, leading the way in providing a payment solution that allows an employer to deposit an employee's pay directly onto a prepaid card issued in the name of the employee. By adding the Visa brand to CashPay, employees can now use their cards everywhere Visa is accepted, at more than 24 million locations worldwide.

"CashPay offers our corporate clients and their employees a valuable business tool for managing and accessing their payroll," said Joseph Lyons, stored-value card senior manager, Bank of America. "This latest enhancement gives employees who don't have a credit or debit product all the same conveniences, security and money managing tools that our other customers have long enjoyed."

Bank of America CashPay helps employers reduce costs associated with producing, handling and distributing paper payroll checks, as well as the reissuance of replacement checks in cases of loss or theft. According to the American Payroll Association, the potential costs savings alone for lost paycheck replacement is estimated at $48 million annually. The new card offers businesses further benefits by providing a competitive tool to help recruit and retain employees.

The card is ideal for employees who may not have traditional banking relationships such as personal checking or savings accounts. According to an American Banking Association survey, 12-15 million households, or 20 percent of the U.S. population, do not have a banking relationship. This group spends approximately $8 billion a year in check cashing and other financial service fees.

"We are very pleased with our CashPay program to date, particularly with the smooth implementation process that we experienced," said Tim Swango, national director - Human Resources, Trammell Crow Residential. "Our largest concern was that card delivery could be made in a timely and accurate manner, and that it would correspond with a new employee's first pay date. The CashPay Card program has been able to successfully meet this requirement."

CashPay provides employees immediate access to their pay and eliminates the need to wait in long lines at check-cashing centers or carry large amounts of cash. Cardholders can shop with CashPay wherever Visa is accepted and withdraw cash as needed from more than 13,000 Bank of America ATMs from coast- to-coast, or any Visa ATM worldwide -- important conveniences that may have eluded this group of consumers. With the Visa brand, CashPay is accepted online and helps bridge the digital divide by allowing cardholders who have never owned a credit or debit card to engage in e-commerce.

"For those living in a 'cash and carry world,' Bank of America CashPay can add tremendous value with significant security," said Lyons. "The card is safer than carrying cash and can be replaced if lost or stolen, because all of our consumer security protection policies apply, including our Zero Liability policy."

With this valuable money management tool, Bank of America CashPay cardholders can more easily track their expenses via the Internet or by using detailed monthly statements, helping them better manage their money. The company also has added enhancements to the standard features of the card, including the ability to transfer funds to a checking or savings account and, as with any Visa card, the ability to pay bills using CashPay.

About Visa U.S.A.'s Zero Liability Policy

Although payment card fraud is extremely rare, Visa's Zero Liability policy provides protection to consumers by eliminating liability, in most circumstances, of payment card fraud. This applies to purchases made on the Visa system, whether in the physical world or on the Internet. While there are steps consumers should take to protect themselves, they should use their Visa payment cards whenever and wherever they choose, knowing that consumer liability is held to zero in most circumstances.

About Visa U.S.A.

Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest consumer payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. More than 14,000 U.S. financial institutions rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate more than $915 billion in annual transaction volume -- including roughly half of all Internet payments -- with virtually 100 percent reliability. U.S. consumers carry 376 million Visa-branded smart, credit, commercial, prepaid and check cards, accepted at approximately 24 million locations worldwide. Visa's people, partnerships, brand, payment technology and security standards are helping to create universal commerce -- the ability to safely conduct transactions anytime, anywhere, anyway.

About Trammel Crow Residential

Trammell Crow Residential ("TCR") is America's premier multi-family real estate firm. TCR develops, constructs, acquires and manages multi-family rental communities of the highest quality. Since its inception in 1977, TCR has developed more than 160,000 apartment units in most major markets across the country and currently manages approximately 70,000 apartment units. The firm, headquartered in Atlanta, currently employs more 2,300 people nationwide and has locations in 20 states.

About Bank of America

One of the world's leading financial services companies, Bank of America is committed to making banking work for customers and clients like it never has before. Through innovative technologies and the ingenuity of its people, Bank of America provides individuals, small businesses and commercial, corporate and institutional clients across the United States and around the world new and better ways to manage their financial lives. The company enables customers to do their banking and investing whenever, wherever and however they choose through the nation's largest financial services network, including approximately 4,400 domestic offices and 13,000 ATMs, as well as 38 international offices serving clients in 190 countries, and an Internet Web site that provides online access for more than 3 million active users, more than any other bank.