TSYS Reaffirms 2001 Third Quarter and Yearly Guidance

30% Increase in Net Income Expected for the Third & Fourth Quarters

Columbus, Ga., Sept. 6, 2001 - TSYS^® (NYSE: TSS) today announced that it anticipates achieving its net income target for the third and fourth quarters in line with its previous guidance. The company's guidance is to grow net income by approximately 30% for the third and fourth quarters with an annualized growth in net income of 20% for 2001.

Chief Financial Officer James B. Lipham said, "We are firmly committed to grow net income by approximately 30% for the third and fourth quarters of 2001. With the revenues from the recently converted portfolios in the United Kingdom and Ireland, we feel confident in our financial position to solidify these goals. We anticipate that the strong growth in earnings will continue in the 20-25% range over the next three years as defined in our VisionWorks strategy.

VisionWorks Strategic Plan:

Lipham continued, "With the conversion of the 10 million accounts in the United Kingdom and Ireland, TSYS has become the leading processor of credit card accounts internationally. We believe that these successful conversions will lead to other opportunities in Western Europe. TSYS also believes that it will be as successful within the Asia Pacific region by developing credit card issuing services from its existing merchant processing relationships with large issuers over the next three years. In the commercial credit card processing arena, we have contracts with seven of the largest ten issuers. We believe TSYS has a tremendous opportunity to expand these relationships for additional processing services.

"With the competitive advantages we have in technology, service and our reputation, we have never been in a better strategic position than right now. Our prospect list is as good as it has ever been, and we firmly believe that we are well positioned for future growth. Given these opportunities, we feel comfortable with guidance for this year and beyond."

About TSYS:

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 more than 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 offers 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 (http://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) (http://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
jlipham@tsys.com

Leo S. Berard
Investor Relations
ph. (706) 649-5220
leoberard@synovus.com

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 increases in net income for the third and fourth quarters of 2001 and for the year 2001 over 2000, the expected increases in net income for the years 2002 and 2003, the expected opportunities for signing new business in Western Europe and the Asia Pacific region, our commitment to signing a top ten credit card issuer, the expected opportunity to expand TSYS' relationship with existing commercial card clients, and the assumptions underlying such statements including TSYS expected increases in revenues, increases in revenues attributable to international clients and increases in 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, TSYS' inability to increase the revenues derived from international sources, 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.