Budapest, Hungary & Little Rock, Arkansas – The new millennium was greeted quietly at Euronet’s switching and customer support centers in Budapest, Hungary and Little Rock, Arkansas where teams of technical experts have been on duty around the clock as part of the company’s special Y2K coverage. But by the dawn of the first day of 2000, support staff levels in both locations had been reduced by more than two-thirds due to a lack of Y2K-related incidents and service calls.

Euronet’s network of more than 2,300 ATMs in Europe and the U.S. made the transition into the new year with no interruptions of service, which is exactly what the technical support teams have been working toward throughout the year. "We have been extremely confident that our software, the switch, and our bank customers and partners were ready for the Y2K rollover," says Mitch Green, Euronet’s Operations Executive in Budapest, Hungary. External variables- extreme weather or power outages- that could have created problems also didn’t materialize. Severe winter storms hit areas of Europe last week, and as late as Thursday, December 30 there were still widespread predictions as to the readiness of the power grids and infrastructure in Eastern and Central Europe. But throughout the eight countries in which Euronet owns and manages ATM networks, there were no interruptions of power or telecommunications, the two main arteries that connect the company to its network.

At the company’s Arksys software division headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, call volume into the support center was near normal levels. "We encountered very few situations that could be considered Y2K-related, and these were triggered by transactions from outside sources," reported Doug Goodwin, Vice President of Customer Service. "We were prepared for such, so these were cleared within minutes. The major problem reported didn’t have anything to do with our software, but occurred when one organization discovered they had not sent new cards to some members whose expiration date coincided with the year-end."

According to Goodwin, the final test will take place next week when banks reopen for regular business. "We are very pleased with how the system has performed so far, and don’t anticipate any major problems. In fact, we have already talked with more than a dozen of our largest clients who all confirmed that their systems are working fine," says Goodwin. Euronet will maintain special millennium coverage teams in Little Rock and Budapest through the middle of next week.

Euronet Services Inc. (Nasdaq: EEFT) is a leading provider of electronic financial solutions and transaction processing services. Euronet operates a network of over 2,300 ATMs in Europe and the U.S. and offers the Arksys software suite of integrated solutions for electronic payment and transaction delivery systems. With offices in eight countries on two continents, Euronet Services offers ATM network development and participation, outsourced management solutions, comprehensive software solutions, and professional consulting services to retail banks and companies in more than 70 countries around the world.