Electronic Clearing House, Inc.

R E V E R B E R A T I O N S R E V E R B E R AT I O N S

April 2007

Vol. XII No. 4

TO MERGE OR NOT TO MERGE!

ECHO announced on March 27, 2007, that it has mutually agreed with Intuit Inc. to terminate the merger

agreement entered into by the two companies on December 14, 2006.

"Both parties were disappointed," Joel M. Barry, CEO, explained, "and we remain corporate friends but

the timing was just not right so we mutually decided to terminate our plans for a merger. We now can give

100% of our attention to making sure our current customers are happy with our service and products."

I've heard buzz that Visa and MasterCard are

boosting some fees. What are they

A.

You've heard correctly. Virtually every year, the credit card associations review their fees, and provide

all credit card processors with their new rates and fees that are effective in April. Fortunately, this year, the

pricing changes will NOT increase your base discount rates, however, there are some pricing changes that

will affect "Incremental Fees," which we previously referred to as "pass-through fees." The new incremental

fees will be effective for all ECHO merchants on May 1, 2007.

Most incremental fees are unchanged for "qualified" transactions (those processed in the optimum manner

for any given business type). The exception to this is in the Commercial Travel and Entertainment and

Commercial Non-T&E qualified transactions. For those, increases of 22 and 20 basis points respectively

will apply.

For all business types, the rewards, partially-qualified and non-qualified categories are seeing relatively

minor increases, averaging just 5-6 basis points. (Remember, a basis point is 1/100th of a percent. So, an

incremental fee of 0.57% that increases 5 basis points would become 0.62%.)

A letter being sent to you now includes a table that shows the

revised schedule of "Industries, Categories and Transaction

Characteristics." Please review this table to ensure that you are

processing in the most cost effective manner for your type of

business.

As always, our customer support representatives are available to

review your processing and provide suggestions on how you may

save on incremental fees. Call them at 1-800-262-3246, ext. 1.

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Electronic Clearing House, Inc.

730 Paseo Camarillo

Camarillo, California 93010

1-805-419-8700

www.echo-inc.com

Love ECHO?

Tell a Friend and Earn $100!

April Promotion Doubles the Normal Referral Fee

You probably know that ECHO will pay you for each merchant you refer to us who activates an account for

either credit cards or check processing. What's new is during the month of April we will pay you twice the

usual referral fee!

So instead of just $50 paid at the time the account is activated, we'll pay you $50 in the beginning, and

also $50 more after your referral's third month of processing. You have a choice of either a $50 gift card

from GAP or Burlington Coat Factory, or $50 paid by check to you. Any way you look at it, it's another

great reason to refer your business colleagues to us.

Recurring Payments ­ Quick Start!

By now you are probably aware that ECHO's Recurring Payment Manager (RPM) allows you to set up and

manage recurring payments from your customers. It allows for both credit card and electronic checks, and

is extremely flexible as to the scheduling you choose for your customers' payments.

We have just completed a new on-line quick start user guide that will be available through the Merchant

Center at https://wwws.echo-inc.com after April 18. Click on the Documentation Library link at the bottom

of the MC. You'll appreciate how this user guide gives you an easy to follow overview of how to set up

RPM payments for your customers. We also have our previously published full-length manual on RPM, for

a detailed description of the service. But for those who prefer an easy-read guide for getting started, you

won't want to miss the new quick start guide. (A hard copy of the guide may be obtained by request. Call

1-800-262-3246 ext. 8567 for yours.)

If you require additional information, our Customer Support department is open 24 hours daily and can be reached at 800-262-3246, ext. 1.

ECHO merchants process on the Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) network. ECHO is a publicly owned company trading on NASDAQ under

the symbol "ECHO". ECHO provides thousands of merchants with reliable processing of bank cards and checks. Merchants are sponsored by FIRST

REGIONAL BANK, Agoura Hills, CA (800-777-0929). Member FDIC.