IRS Awards New Electronic Tax Collection Contract to Official Payments.

Business Editors

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2002

Official Payments Corporation (NASDAQ:OPAY) (www.officialpayments.com), the leading provider of electronic payment options to government entities, announced today that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has awarded the company a new contract to collect and process individual income tax payments by credit card.

The contract contemplates a five-year period: an initial one-year term in 2003, with the IRS having four one-year renewal options through 2007.

The contract is a continuation of the agency's existing relationship with Official Payments, in which the company provides a service enabling taxpayers to make a variety of personal income tax payments with their Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards. Consumers can make these payments by visiting www.officialpayments.com or calling 1-800-2PAY-TAX(SM). The IRS has informed Official Payments that as in 2001 and 2002, the company is one of two vendors that received this contract award.

"Official Payments has provided our proven and trusted credit card tax payment systems to the IRS since 1999, and we are gratified and pleased that they have decided to continue this relationship," said Thomas R. Evans, Chairman & CEO of Official Payments.

About Official Payments Corporation

Founded in 1996, Official Payments Corporation (Nasdaq: OPAY) is the leading provider of electronic payment options to more than 1,200 government entities in all 50 states. The company has agreements to collect and process credit card payments with the IRS, 21 state governments (AL, AR, CA, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, MD, MN, MS, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, VA, WA, WI, and WV), the District of Columbia, and more than 1,200 counties and municipalities. The company's principal business is enabling consumers to pay their government taxes, fees, fines, and utility bills by credit card, via Internet and telephone. In 2001, Official Payments collected and processed more than one million transactions totaling $1.2 billion in federal, state and local government payments.

NOTE: Official Payments Corp. and the Official Payments Corp. logo are service marks of Official Payments Corporation.