eFunds Acquires Electronic FraudPrevention Firm

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - (01/13/05) -- Funds processor eFunds Corp. saidWednesday it has agreed to acquire ClearCommerce Corp., aprivately-held provider of fraud prevention and payment processingsolutions for 'card-not-present' transactions, including online andmail order/telephone order sales. The purchase priceof $19.4million will be paid in cash at closing, which is expected to occurin the first quarter of 2005. The deal will strengthen the POS andonline transaction processing capabilities and add a 'CNP' fraudprevention solution for eFunds, which processes transactions forthe credit union-owned CO-OP Network. The card-not-present solutionwas attractive for eFunds, which lacks a product that can helpprevent fraud in those transactions. ClearCommerce software is usedby 80,000 businesses worldwide, including customers such as Adobe,Apple Computer, Barclay's and Staples.