MARKHAM, Sept 22, 2008 – Everlink, a leading provider of electronic payments services in the Canadian marketplace, has announced that Shinhan Bank Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd., has entered into an agreement with Everlink for issuing and acquiring services. Headquartered in Korea with locations throughout nine countries, Shinhan Bank is extending its reach into Canada with a primary focus on serving the country’s growing Korean population.

Everlink will be providing Shinhan Bank Canada with gateway transaction switching, ATM driving, device monitoring and card processing services. The bank has been approved for operations in Canada by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and is establishing its head office in Toronto. The bank is also planning to operate ATMs at each branch and expand throughout Toronto and Vancouver with the opening of several branches.

“Our global vision is to become a premier global bank that customers can be proud of,” said Yong Kil Kim, president and CEO, Shinhan Bank Canada. “Everlink’s low-risk, high-value offerings, coupled with the company’s financial services expertise and experience, will support our vision as we continue to expand throughout Canada.”

“Our proven solutions offer the accessibility of around -the-clock customer support, the stability and performance of a fully operational infrastructure and the flexibility of pricing which is not volume sensitive,” said Mark Ripplinger, president of Everlink. “Everlink will provide the technology and infrastructure that will help support Shinhan Bank Canada to meet and exceed its growth potential.”

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About Everlink
Everlink Payment Services Inc. based in Markham, ON, is a joint-venture company owned by FIS and Celero Solutions, and is fully compliant and EMV certified with the Interac, MasterCard and Visa associations. Everlink is a recognized leader in the dependable secure delivery of Electronic Transaction Processing services, EMV Chip, Managed ATM Services and Integrated Payment Solutions in the Canadian financial services marketplace. Everlink is the first in Canada to instantly issue a fully personalized, Interac and MasterCard certified EMV Chip card.
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About Shinhan Bank
Shinhan Financial Group secured the leading position in the financial industry, growing as a financial group with the 2nd best asset scale in 2003. Shinhan Financial is successfully managing 11 subsidiary companies and two subsidiary companies in the global financial industry including the bank, card, securities, life insurance, asset management, lease, financial advisory, etc. Shinhan Financial Group is listed on both the Korean (KRX) and U.S. (NYSE) markets.