BROOKFIELD, Wis. & WYOMISSING, Pa., Apr 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), a leading provider of information technology services to the financial industry, and Sovereign Bank (NYSE:SOV) today announced they are partnering to help educate consumers about the benefits of receiving and paying bills online. Based on the success of last year's Go Paperless campaign with CheckFree, now part of Fiserv, Sovereign Bank and Fiserv will donate a tree for every electronic bill (e-bill) activated between April 14 and June 15, 2008. This year, the companies will also donate a tree on behalf of customers who make three or more new online bill payments during the campaign.

Last year, the effort resulted in the two companies planting more than 12,000 trees in Huron State Forest in Michigan through their direct contributions to the Arbor Day Foundation. The companies have set a goal of planting 15,000 trees as part of the 2008 campaign.

According to a 2007 green banking study by Javelin Strategy and Research, if all U.S. households viewed and paid bills online it would save 16.5 million trees each year. A single tree in one day can provide oxygen for up to four people and discharge up to 100 gallons of water from the ground into the air, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sovereign Bank customers can learn more about the environmental impact their household can have through online bill payment by entering their information into the bank's Green Calculator. The bank is also hosting a podcast that will discuss the environmental benefits of receiving and paying bills online at www.sovereignbank.com.

"The response from our customers to last year's Go Paperless partnership with CheckFree was so tremendous we were able to exceed our goal of planting 10,000 trees, and we are hoping to duplicate that success again this year," said David Fingerman, director of Retail Online Banking, Sovereign Bank. "In addition to consumer convenience, online bill payment contributes to a healthier environment, and we know that the best way to raise our customers' awareness of the green advantages of e-bills and online bill payment is through initiatives such as this one that can have a direct ecological impact."

Sovereign Bank customers can make online bill payments and register for e-bills, which contain the same information as typical paper bills, at www.sovereignbank.com or at any of its nearly 750 locations. In addition to the environmental benefits, paying bills online rather than sending paper bills through the mail provides consumers with better security and control of their finances. Consumers can schedule payments on the date of their choosing and more easily monitor and manage account balances. Recent studies show that identity fraud is more common offline than online and electronic bill pay can also help to reduce the risk of theft.

"We recently sponsored a survey in which more than half of American consumers responded that it was very important to them that receiving and paying bills online benefits the environment, and this validates our firsthand experience with the success of the Sovereign's e-bill campaign last year," said Todd Lesher, executive vice president and general manager, CheckFree Electronic Banking Services, now part of Fiserv. "We are committed to working with our banking partners like Sovereign to further educate the public about the positive impact that online banking and bill payment can have on the environment."

Fiserv, Inc. and CheckFree are committed to educating consumers and businesses through the PayItGreen(TM) campaign about the environmental benefits of choosing electronic billing, statements, and payments instead of paper. Learn more at www.payitgreen.org.

About Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with $85 billion in assets as of December 31, 2007 with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa., Sovereign Bank has 750 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members. Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 19th largest banking institution in the United States. For more information on Sovereign Bank, call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

About The Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit, environmental education organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.arborday.org.

About Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management and electronic commerce systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, electronic bill payment and presentment, investment management solutions, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., the company is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. In 2007, the company completed the acquisition of CheckFree, a leading provider of electronic commerce services. Fiserv reported nearly $4 billion in total revenue from continuing operations for 2007. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.

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SOURCE: Fiserv, Inc.

CheckFree - now part of Fiserv
Electronic Banking Services
Sheryl Roehl
Director of Public Relations
678-375-1682
saroehl@checkfree.com
or
Sovereign Bank
Ellen .M. Molle
Corporate Communications
617-757-5573
Emolle@sovereignbank.com
or
Fiserv Corporate Contact:
Lori Stafford
Assistant Vice President Corp. External Comm.
262-879-5130
Lori.stafford@fiserv.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

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