Ecount News & Press Releases

Ecount Offers Student Advantage Members Added Flexibility for Using Money Online

Now Student Advantage Members get $10 to spend anywhere on the Web

PHILADELPHIA and BOSTON - August 14, 2000 - Ecount, an industry leading e-commerce payments company and Student Advantage, Inc. (Nasdaq: STAD), the leading offline and online portal to the higher education community, today announced a participation agreement. Ecount will provide a personal payment account (an ecount) loaded with $10 to each student who purchases a Student Advantage Membership at one of Student Advantage's participating locations and registers his or her Member ID at studentadvantage.com.

An ecount is an online payment account that enables consumers to instantly and securely purchase goods and services from any merchant on the Web and to make and receive e-mail payments. An ecount can be funded by credit card, parents, friends, and even businesses - which makes it the perfect option for students who want ultimate choice and flexibility on how to use their money online.

When students purchase a Student Advantage Membership for $20 at various Student Advantage locations, they are directed to register their Member ID number at studentadvantage.com. Once registered with studentadvantage.com, Ecount will e-mail the student $10 in an ecount.

The money can be used for shopping anywhere on the Web or can be sent to anyone else with an e-mail account. Student Advantage Members can stretch their $10 even further by using their memberships to receive discounts on merchandise from other participating Student Advantage partners. The Student Advantage Membership is the only program which offers students 10-50% discounts on merchandise from nearly 50 national sponsors and 15,000 local participating locations in 125 cities nationwide or online at studentadvantage.com.

"Student Advantage gives us a direct link to the college student market, which is a perfect match for ecount," said Matt Gillin, president and chief executive officer of Ecount. "Our relationship with Student Advantage enables us to offer students a way to easily, safely and responsibly transact online."

Ecount offers parents of college students several benefits as well. Ecount provides an immediate, convenient way to send cash for those last minute money requests. Parents can also fund their student's ecount in an effort to foster responsible spending.

"We're excited to be working with Ecount. Not only does this partnership give our Student Advantage Members a bonus and a new way to spend money online, but it also encourages students to register at studentadvantage.com," said Pedro Marzo, product manager, Student Advantage, Inc. "Ecount provides an easy, flexible way for our members to pay for and receive discounts on the purchases they make at our online partners or anywhere on the Web."

About Ecount
Founded in 1997 as C/Base, Ecount is an industry-leading e-commerce payments company, which offers "next generation" transaction products and services to portals, Web communities, financial institutions, wireless service providers, affinity groups, and other businesses, through its proprietary payment platform. The Ecount platform enables companies to cost-effectively acquire, incent, and retain customers through the issuance of online debit-based payment mechanisms, which facilitate payments of any type: person-to-person, person-to-merchant, and business-to-person.

Today, the Ecount platform powers payment products developed exclusively for MSN, NBC Internet, and others. In addition, the platform has been utilized by 17% of the Fortune 100 to support various innovative customer acquisition, retention and payment initiatives, and also supports the company's suite of branded payment products: ecount.com, the first online payment account for instantly sending, spending and receiving money online; Webcertificate.com, the only online gift certificate that can be used at any online or offline merchant; and PrivateBuy.com, the only product that enables consumers to shop anonymously anywhere on the Web.

Based in Conshohocken, Penn., Ecount is privately held. The Company is actively expanding its payment platform for wireless applications and international growth.

About Student Advantage, Inc.
Founded in 1992, Student Advantage, Inc. (Nasdaq: STAD) is the leading offline and online portal to the higher education community. Student Advantage, Inc. reaches its constituents through its Student Services, and Corporate and University Services groups. The overall mission of Student Advantage is to help students save money, work smarter, and make more informed life decisions.

Today, Student Advantage, Inc. reaches millions of students and counts more than 2 million members enrolled in the Student Advantage®reg; Membership Program. The Company has proprietary commerce relationships with nearly 50 national retailers and 15,000 local participating locations in 125 cities throughout the country, including AT&T, Amtrak®reg;, Staples, The Princeton Review, Textbooks.com and Tower Records.