First Data Corporation ("FDC" or "the Company"), incorporated in Delaware in 1989, was established in 1992 through an initial public offering in connection with a spin-off from American Express. FDC operates electronic commerce, payment services and customer account management businesses which are reported in four business segments and All Other and Corporate. The following provides a brief overview of the segment operations:

First Data Commercial Services Segment

In the Commercial Services segment, the Company provides merchant acquiring and processing, debit network acquiring and processing, check verification and guarantee and prepaid card services. Merchant acquiring and processing services facilitate the merchants' ability to accept credit and debit cards by authorizing, capturing, and settling merchants' credit, debit, stored-value and loyalty card transactions. Many of the segment's services are offered through joint ventures and other alliance arrangements.

First Data Financial Institution Services Segment

In the Financial Institution Services segment, the Company provides credit and retail card processing, debit card processing and network services, output services and remittance processing services. The credit and retail card processing and debit processing businesses provide services which enable financial institutions and other organizations offering branded credit cards, branded debit cards and retail private label cards to consumers and businesses to manage customer accounts. The output services business provides printing and embossing services to clients processing accounts on the Company's platform as well as those using alternative platforms. The remittance processing business processes remittances for third-party organizations.

First Data International Segment

In the International segment, the Company provides the following services outside of the United States: credit, debit and prepaid card processing; merchant acquiring and processing; and ATM and point-of-sale ("POS") processing, driving, acquiring and switching services and card processing software. These services include facilitating the merchants' ability to accept credit and debit cards by authorizing, capturing, and settling merchants' credit, debit, stored-value and loyalty card transactions as well as transaction authorization and posting, network switching and account management.

Integrated Payment Systems Segment

In the Integrated Payment Systems segment, the Company provides official checks and money orders through agents which are typically banks or other financial institutions. Official checks serve as an alternative to a bank's own disbursement items such as cashiers or bank checks. This segment also provides other payment services such as remote deposit, clearing services and processing which occur in various forms such as checks, ACH, wire transfer and stored-value cards.