Sage Payment Solutions Joins PCI Security Standards Council as Participating Organization

MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwire - November 12, 2009) - Sage North America today announced that its Sage Payment Solutions division has joined the PCI Security Standards Council as a new Participating Organization. As a Participating Organization, Sage Payment Solutions executives will work with the Council to evolve the PCI (Payment Card Industry) Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.

"The PCI Security Standards Council is committed to helping everyone involved in the payment chain protect consumer payment data," said Bob Russo, general manager of the PCI Security Standards Council. "By participating in the standards setting process, Sage Payment Solutions demonstrates they are playing an active part in this important end goal."

The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process, or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity.

Sage Payment Solutions has been actively supporting the PCI security standard since its inception. As a Participating Organization, Sage Payment Solutions will now have access to the latest payment card security standards from the Council; be able to provide feedback on the standards; and become part of a growing community that now includes more than 540 organizations. In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents an entity's best protection against data criminals. By joining as a Participating Organization, Sage Payment Solutions is adding its voice to the process.

"Electronic payments are a critical process efficiency component for a business' back-office operations, and payments security standards provide the data and financial protections that spur both the growth and adoption of e-payments," said Greg Hammermaster, president of Sage Payment Solutions. "We look forward to being an active participant in the PCI Security Standards Council."

For more than 20 years, Sage Payment Solutions has been making it easy for businesses to accept electronic payments. Processing services are currently being provided to more than 140,000 businesses, who are delivering improved customer experiences by accepting multiple forms of payment, including credit and debit cards, electronic checks, gift cards, and automatic recurring payments. With Sage Payment Solutions, businesses can also expand the way they accept payments, from card present and mail order/telephone order (MO/TO), to Internet and payments integrated with Sage and other third party software.

For more information about Sage Payment Solutions, please call 800-261-0240, or visit www.sagepayments.com.

About PCI Security Standards Council

The mission of the PCI Security Standards Council is to enhance payment account security by driving education and awareness of PCI security standards. For more information, please visit www.pcisecuritystandards.org.

About Sage North America

Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America employs more than 4,100 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 14,500 people and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com.

© 2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, Sage Software, Sage logos and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information: Press Contacts: Cynthia Sutton Sage North America (703) 793-2700 x 3032 cynthia.sutton@sage.com Ella Nevill PCI Security Standards Council 781-876-6248 enevill@pcisecuritystandards.org