TSYS® Second Quarter 2001 Results In Line With Forecast

Company Expects to Achieve a 20% Increase in Net Income for the Year

Columbus, Ga., July 17, 2001 - TSYS^® (NYSE: "TSS") today announced net income and revenues for the three and six months ended June 30, 2001, which were in line with the Company’s forecast.

Net income for the second quarter of 2001 increased 6.7% to $26.0 million, up from $24.3 million for the same period last year. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2001 increased to $.13, up from $.12 for the second quarter of 2000. Revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2001 were $162.5 million, an increase of 8.0% compared with revenues of $150.5 million for the same period in 2000.

Net income for the first six months of 2001 increased 6.6% to $48.0 million, up from $45.0 million for the same period last year. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2001 increased to $.25, up from $.23 for the first six months of 2000. Revenues for the first six months of 2001 were $316.6 million, an increase of 6.8%, compared with revenues of $296.3 million for the first six months of 2000.

TSYS’ revenues do not include the revenues of its joint processing venture with Visa U.S.A. named Vital Processing Services, L.L.C. (Vital.) TSYS accounts for the financial results of Vital based on the equity method of accounting. If TSYS had consolidated Vital’s results, pro forma revenues for the second quarter of 2001 would have been $210.7 million, an increase of 8.5%, compared with the pro forma revenues of $194.2 million for the second quarter of 2000. Pro forma revenues for the first six months of 2001 would have been $409.4 million, an increase of 7.9%, compared with the pro forma revenues of $379.3 million for the same period in 2000.

Chairman and CEO Richard W. Ussery said, "We are extremely pleased with the financial results for the first six months of 2001. The results were in line with our forecast which called for mid-single digit growth rates during the first and second quarters, when compared to the same periods in 2000 when we were processing the UCS consumer card portfolio. With revenue growth being slightly below earlier projections, our focus on expense controls has been, and will continue to be, crucial in meeting our forecast. We expect the growth rate in earnings in the third and fourth quarters of 2001 to be in excess of 30%. We continue to anticipate achieving a 20% growth in net income for 2001."

Ussery continued, "Since the end of the first quarter of 2001, we announced our entry into the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) arena with the signing of a multi-year agreement with Lockheed Martin IMS to provide transaction processing, settlement and recipient call center services to meet Lockheed's EBT needs.

Ussery added, "With the conversions of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Allied Irish Banks plc nearing completion, we are poised to become the leading international third-party processor. At the end of second quarter, we were processing approximately 23.0 million international accounts on file, while awaiting the last portion of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s portfolio to be completed in the third quarter of 2001. We look forward to another successful year in 2001 as we execute our three-year strategic plan, which calls for an ambitious, but achievable, 20-25% growth in net income for 2002 and 2003."

VisionWorks Strategic Plan Scorecard:

TSYS will host a quarterly earnings conference call at 4:15 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2001. The conference call can be accessed on TSYS’ web site at www.tsys.com by clicking on the listed item within the Highlights section of the home page. The replay will be archived for 90 days and will be available 30-45 minutes after the call.

About TSYS (www.tsys.com)

TSYS brings integrity and innovation to the world of electronic payments. TSYS serves as the integral link between buyers and sellers in the rapidly evolving universe of electronic payments. With almost 200 million accounts on file, TSYS makes it possible for millions of consumers to use their credit, debit, stored value, commercial, chip and retail cards anytime, anywhere through any medium or portal. TSYS and its family of companies offer a full range of acquiring and issuing services from accepting electronic payments for goods and services, to credit applications, collections and bankruptcy. Based in Columbus, Ga., TSYS (NYSE: "TSS") (www.tsys.com) processes for 23 countries in 14 currencies and four languages and maintains operations in Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom. TSYS is an 80.8 percent-owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: "SNV") (www.synovus.com), No. 8 on FORTUNE magazine’s list of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For" in 2001. For more information, contact news@tsys.com.

Contacts:
James B. Lipham
Chief Financial Officer
ph. (706) 649-2262

Leo S. Berard
Investor Relations
ph. (706) 649-5220

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding TSYS’ expected growth in earnings for the third and fourth quarters of 2001, expected growth in net income for the years 2001-2003 and the assumptions underlying such statements including TSYS’ expected increases in revenues, increases in revenues attributable to international clients, increases in net income and the expected increases in the number of accounts on file for 2001 and 2003. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Many of these factors are beyond TSYS’ ability to control or predict. The factors include, but are not limited to, lower than anticipated internal growth rates for TSYS' existing customers, TSYS' inability to control expenses and increased market share, TSYS’ inability to successfully bring new products to market, including, but not limited to stored value and e-commerce products, the inability of TSYS to grow its business through acquisitions, adverse developments with respect to entering into contracts with new clients and retaining current clients, the merger of TSYS clients with entities that are not TSYS clients, TSYS’ inability to anticipate and respond to technological changes, particularly with respect to e-commerce adverse developments with respect to the successful conversion of clients, the absence of significant changes in foreign exchange spreads between the United States and the countries TSYS transacts business in, to include Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and the European Union, adverse developments with respect to the credit card industry in general and overall market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in this press release can be found in TSYS' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations.