Dwolla On-Boards New Real-Time Credit Product, Opens Early Access

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and DES MOINES, IA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2013) - Dwolla, the digital payment network that allows anyone connected to the Internet to send, request and accept money, today announced a partnership with Alliance Data Retail Services and its banking subsidiary Comenity Capital Bank to offer a new payment option called Dwolla Credit. The partnership will help the Dwolla network extend hundreds of millions of dollars in purchasing power, replacing traditional card transaction fees with Dwolla's simple pricing structure of 25 cents per transaction or free, if $10 or less. The "cardless" credit product will provide approved consumers the ability to instantly access and spend advanced funds at qualified online businesses. Today, Dwolla is opening its beta program to further this unique shopping option, and help inspire new credit products and experiences.

"Credit is not new, but providing it on a real-time network that replaces interchange fees and positions credit to evolve is, and that's what Dwolla Credit does," said Ben Milne, chief executive officer and founder of Dwolla. "Dwolla Credit places millions of dollars in immediate buying power right at the fingertips of a network at a transaction cost that's next to nothing and in a way that's as simple as logging into your email."

"We're excited to partner with Dwolla, as it underscores a shared desire to deliver unique payment solutions to an ever-evolving, mobile consumer who shops across multiple channels," said Brian Billingsley, director of strategic business development for Alliance Data Retail Services. "Dwolla is clearly an innovator that understands the driving forces behind consumers' evolving payment behaviors and needs; with our combined expertise across digital and emerging technologies, the retail industry and customer marketing, we look forward to delivering a viable credit product offering to consumers."

Dwolla has created the Internet's first payment network, allowing the company to bypass the entrenched costs of traditional card networks and create its own rails. By reimagining payments with 21^st century technology, Dwolla helps solve many of the fees, concerns and access constraints imposed by the aging networks of traditional credit and debit. The result provides financial institutions, such as Alliance Data's Comenity Capital Bank, new revenue opportunities while providing members additional improvements to security, such as Dwolla's ability to remove sensitive financial information from a transaction.

"Today merchants have two options, either wait for transactions to settle or pay someone to assume the risk and settle the transaction immediately, both of which come with legacy problems, like costs and security issues," said James Wester, research director of global payments at IDC Financial Insights. "It's a 21st century world out there, so there's a push for a real-time payment method that settles a transaction between a merchant and customer immediately but at a much lower cost."

During its initial beta rollout, approved Dwolla members are being tasked with helping guide Dwolla Credit's early evolution by critiquing, inspiring and creating new consumer experiences for today's plugged-in and always-on shopper. Dwolla will continue enrolling beta users and merchants, with plans to offer general availability in early 2014.

Dwolla is also announcing the first iteration of its new lightweight directory, called Storefront (http://dwolla.com/storefront). The inaugural, handpicked group of over 40 new retail merchants and services accept Dwolla Credit and join Dwolla's growing community of more than 25,000 businesses and organizations.

"Dwolla helps our customers have a more simple and easy experience with real-time payments so integrating it alongside our other payment options was a no-brainer," said David Restrepo, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Tinypass. "As Dwolla eliminates fees for transactions below $10 as well as other fees typically associated with credit cards, we feel that their solution can help open up a whole new market and spur innovation around digital content media sales."

"Our buyers and sellers should have choices," said Fiverr CEO and co-founder Micha Kaufman. "We partnered with Dwolla because it is a fast and easy-to-use payment solution for the millions of Fiverr community members located in the U.S. who require services that are trustworthy and safe."

Interested individuals can learn more about Dwolla Credit by watching the video: http://youtu.be/dfcmnsQr6NU

About Dwolla
Dwolla allows anything connected to the Internet to move money as quickly, safely, and at the lowest cost possible. Powered by an accessible web-based platform and its "free or 25 cent flat-fee" per transaction pricing model, the software uses the Internet to securely link mobile phones, computers, social communities, and even physical locations to create a safe network that bypasses traditional card and check systems. This allows friends, families, businesses, even governments to easily send and receive digital payments with one another, like cash, but with easy to use websites, apps, and tools and without the fees and constraints of traditional debit and credit cards. 

About Alliance Data Retail Services
Alliance Data Retail Services is one of the nation's leading providers of branded credit card programs, with more than 120 marketing-driven private label, co-brand and commercial programs in partnership with many of North America's best-known brands. The business delivers upon its Know More. Sell More.^® commitment by leveraging customer insight to drive sales for its client partners. Leveraging deep-rooted retail industry expertise, transaction-based customer data, and advanced analytics, Alliance Data Retail Services creates turnkey, multichannel credit programs designed to help its clients develop stronger, more profitable customer relationships. Alliance Data Retail Services is part of the Alliance Data family of companies. To learn more about Alliance Data Retail Services, visit www.alliancedataretail.com.

About Alliance Data
Alliance Data^® (NYSE: ADS) and its combined businesses is North America's largest and most comprehensive provider of transaction-based, data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions serving large, consumer-based industries. The Company creates and deploys customized solutions, enhancing the critical customer marketing experience; the result is measurably changing consumer behavior while driving business growth and profitability for some of today's most recognizable brands. Alliance Data helps its clients create and increase customer loyalty through solutions that engage millions of customers each day across multiple touch points using traditional, digital, mobile and other emerging technologies. Headquartered in Dallas, Alliance Data and its three businesses employ approximately 11,000 associates at more than 70 locations worldwide.

Alliance Data consists of three businesses: Alliance Data Retail Services, a leading provider of marketing-driven credit solutions; Epsilon^®, a leading provider of multichannel, data-driven technologies and marketing services; and LoyaltyOne^®, which owns and operates the AIR MILES^® Reward Program, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program. For more information about the company, visit our website, www.alliancedata.com, or follow us on Twitter via @AllianceData.

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