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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Boyle
Chief Executive Officer
803-758-2528
AFFINITY RECEIVES NOTICE
OF PATENT ALLOWANCE FOR ELECTRONIC REAL-TIME SYSTEM FOR ESTABLISHING
A FINANCIAL ACCOUNT
Columbia, SC, February 29, 2000 - Affinity
Technology Group, Inc. [NASDAQ: AFFI] today announced that the company
has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office for issuance of a U.S. patent pertaining to a system for
real-time establishment of a financial account over a computer network
without any human intervention other than by the applicant.
Upon issuance, the new patent will provide proprietary rights covering
fully automated establishment of financial accounts, including credit
accounts, through a remote interface connected to a data processing
system through a communications network which will verify the applicant's
identity and process the transaction in real time without human
intervention.
"We believe that this patent will be a valuable asset to our
patent portfolio. Consumers are demanding the convenience of online
access to financial services including the establishment of financial
accounts. We anticipate that this patent, once issued, will provide
us with additional licensing opportunities," said Joe Boyle,
Affinity's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Affinity also announced that it is currently in a reexamination
proceeding with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its previously
issued fully automated lending patent (U.S. Patent Number 5,870,721).
Affinity anticipates the reexamination will likely continue for
several months and could result in the patent being upheld or a
loss or limitation of the previously issued claims. Boyle also commented,
"We have been informed by our patent counsel that a reexamination
is not uncommon given the scope of our previously issued patent.
We intend to vigorously defend our first patent as well as continue
to seek additional patent protection." Affinity's patent portfolio
currently consists of two patents covering automated lending and
one patent covering the issuance of insurance from a kiosk. The
patent covering the automated establishment of financial accounts
is expected to issue in the next few months.
Affinity's technology enables financial institutions to link their
branches, call centers, Internet customers, and indirect agents
electronically to their credit departments, providing fully automated
lending - and, if necessary, connectivity to a loan officer - through
every channel. For financial institutions, Affinity's solutions
expedite loan decisioning and processing and increase productivity
and capacity of branch personnel, call center agents, loan officers,
and indirect agents, while improving the overall customer experience.
Affinity is located on the World Wide Web at www.affi.net.
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Forward-looking statements
in this news release, including statements regarding the Companys
patents, both those granted and pending, opportunities to earn patent
license revenues, and the coverage of any patents that have been
or may be issued to the Company, are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties, including those related to the proprietary
and other rights of third parties who may challenge the Company's
patents, general economic conditions, delays and risks associated
with the development of new technologies, consumer and industry
acceptance of automated delivery channels, and regulatory risks,
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
Further, although the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued
certain patents and a notice of allowance for certain claims covered
by the Company's patent applications, such action is subject to
challenge by third parties, and no assurance can be given that the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will issue additional patents to
the Company, or that any such patents will have any commercial value.
NOTE TO INVESTORS AND EDITORS:
Affinity's press releases are available on the Internet through
Business Wire's web site at http://www.businesswire.com. The releases
are also available at no extra charge through Business Wire's Company
News-On-Demand fax service at 1-800-340-7544.
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