November 1, 2001 * ResAvenue welcomes Citibank to its network

Citibank account holders in India will soon be shopping online through ResAvenue, India's first and only neutral online payment gateway. ResAvenue has teamed up with India's largest credit card organization, Citibank, to extend its online payment services to hundreds of Indian Merchants' web sites.

Citibank was the first card company to come into India in the early nineties and introduce the concept of credit payments to the average Indian consumer. Today, that brave first step has paid off with Citibank still being one of the most preferred credit cards in the country.
Over the years, Citibank has consistently offered value-adds and extras to its account holders and card members. Now with this tie-up with ResAvenue, Citibank expands the convenience to its patrons: the facility to pay online at hundreds on Indian merchants websites.
"As a pioneer in online payments, ResAvenue is committed to providing a safe, reliable and convenient method for online sales and purchases. With Citibank now in its list of 'accepted cards', ResAvenue has made e-commerce safe and easy for millions of Citibank card members across India," said Mr. Patel, CEO, ResAvenue. "By partnering with Citibank, ResAvenue users will now have an additional choice of payment for secure, online transactions." This partnership will make several other brand names available as payment options to ResAvenue customers. These include names like Diners Club International, and Citibank E-Cards, along with conventional Visa and Master Cards.

ResAvenue enables any business to receive online payments securely, conveniently and cost-effectively. ResAvenue network builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards to create a global payment solution. ResAvenue is a popular payment network for online auction websites and is being increasingly used at e-commerce sites for the sale of goods, services.


About Citibank
Citigroup (NYSE:C), the pre-eminent global financial services company, provides some 120 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in more than 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark umbrella are Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, and Travelers.

Citibank is a member company of Citigroup, the largest and the most diversified provider of financial services in the world. With its 99-year history, Citibank has come to be acknowledged as one of the leading international banks in India, with a track record of outstanding business milestones.

In India, it was the pioneer in :
- consumer banking, being the first to introduce focused consumer lending programs;
- electronic banking, having made significant investments in technology.
- launching credit cards in India, and ranks amongst the leading credit card issuers in the country with over 1.5 million card members (i.e. over 70 % of the Indian credit cards are issued by Citibank. It has done 'Due Diligence' and maintains complete detailed records of more than 70% of Indian Credit Card Holders.). Citibank is also amongst the first to launch the Real time Internet Payment Gateway services in India. It will act as ResAvenue's acquiring bank to provide proprietary payment gateway services and will allow Citibank Net Banking and Debit card transactions through ResAvenue.


About ResAvenue
Established in the year 2000 and headquartered in Mumbai, India, ResAvenue provides turnkey e-commerce solutions to hundreds of e-merchants across India. ResAvenue is the preferred Indian payment-processing service for e-commerce, providing server-based payment solutions, enabling merchants to process secure transactions in real time, 24 hours a day. The company's service is powered by proprietary technology that integrates online payment processing, fraud control and financial reporting and tracking. ResAvenue Payment Solutions process credit cards and net banking transactions and work with any business model, including Internet call centres and retail. ResAvenue has also formed strategic alliances with leading financial institutions and technology partners to deliver the most comprehensive online authorisation and processing services available to Indian Merchants. ResAvenue's secure, complete and leading-edge payment services maximize growth at every stage of a merchant's business lifecycle. For more information about ResAvenue, visit the company on the World Wide www.ResAvenue.com or call (022)-26000816/46 and 26491524.