MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 23, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems and Concur Technologies, Inc. recently announced a partnership to offer customers U.S. Bank AccessExpense, powered by Concur(R). In combination with U.S. Bank commercial cards, AccessExpense provides companies with an end-to-end expense management solution to help control their travel and entertainment costs.

AccessExpense builds upon the control features inherent in commercial cards to more effectively manage travel and entertainment costs, the second largest controllable cost in most organizations. By automating the travel and entertainment expense management process -- including prepopulation of commercial card data, expense report preparation, policy compliance, employee reimbursement and control of financial reporting -- AccessExpense ensures far greater accuracy and adherence to corporate governance requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

"We chose to partner with Concur Technologies because they have a very robust product which complements the value proposition behind our commercial cards," said Robert T. Abele, executive vice president for U.S. Bank. "They are an industry leader, and we like the synergy we've created. AccessExpense is another powerful tool that we can offer to our commercial card customers."

AccessExpense features built-in "best practices" management reports, based on the input of numerous companies and organizations, to effectively monitor and control costs throughout an organization. With AccessExpense, corporate travel managers now have an edge in negotiating rates with hotels, airlines, car rental agencies and other travel suppliers -- resulting in immediate reductions in direct costs. AccessExpense's flexible queries and customized reporting options also help enable trend analysis, influence budget decisions and improve corporate forecasting.

"Today, 97 percent of businesses have not automated their expense process. U.S. Bank will be a key strategic partner for Concur as we bring expense automation to these businesses," said Steve Singh, president and CEO of Concur Technologies. "AccessExpense, Powered by Concur, is a subscription-based service that provides companies with a fast, easy, and affordable way to automate their expense reporting process. Together with U.S. Bank, we look forward to enabling mid-sized businesses to take control of their expenses."

U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems, a division of U.S. Bancorp, offers clients a full suite of solutions for commercial, fleet and B2B payment needs. U.S. Bank was the first to offer corporate bankcard, purchasing and relocation card programs, the first to offer a private-label fleet card and is one of the largest merchant acquirers in the world. Corporate Payment Systems maintains an enviable list of clients including nearly half of the Fortune 100 and more than 30 percent of the Fortune 500.

Concur Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNQR) is the world's leading provider of Corporate Expense Management solutions, servicing thousands of companies worldwide. Concur solutions include Concur Expense for travel and entertainment expense management and Concur Payment for managing employee request for vendor payments. Concur also offers value-added software and services to complement its core solutions, including Concur Imaging Service, Concur Travel Integration, Concur Business Intelligence, and Concur Total Access. Concur solutions streamline business processes, reduce operating costs and improve internal controls while empowering financial managers to apply greater intelligence to their company's spending patterns. More information about Concur is available at www.concur.com.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), with assets of $189 billion, is the 8th largest financial services holding company in the United States. The company operates 2,243 banking offices and 4,425 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp is home of the Five Star Service Guarantee, which assures customers of certain key banking benefits and services or customers will be paid for their inconvenience. U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at usbank.com.

SOURCE: U.S. Bank

CONTACT:          U.S. Bank
                  Dan Endy, Corporate Payment Systems, 612-973-6901
                  or
                  Karen Greenwood, Media Relations, 612-303-0731

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SOURCE: U.S. Bank