ECHO Extends Partnership with EZCheck

Long-Term Processing Agreement for Automated Clearing House and Authorization Processing Services Extended

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2006--Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECHO), a leading provider of electronic payment and transaction processing services announced today that it has signed a three-year agreement extending its long-standing partnership with EZCheck(R) Check Services, Inc., a leading check conversion and authorization company. Under this new agreement EZCheck will continue to utilize ECHO's Automated Clearing House (ACH) and authorization processing services, including risk management services, to augment its own check processing and check conversion infrastructure.

Through ECHO's range of products and access to other third party databases, EZCheck will be able to secure additional resources that aid in negative data acquisition, risk management integration and ultimately reduction of a merchant's bad check experience. These resources, along with the robust ACH and transaction processing services supplied by ECHO, enable EZCheck to provide a suite of quality products and services to its merchant customers.

"We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with EZCheck, an organization that truly leads the market in providing check services to its clients," said Charles Harris, President and COO, ECHO. "ECHO is excited that we remain the processor of choice for a company of this caliber. Going forward, we believe our relationship with EZCheck will result in a greatly expanded channel for our services to meet the market's needs. The fact that EZCheck has chosen to continue this partnership is confirmation that our services and expertise support both the needs of our partners and merchant end-users. Ultimately, our mutual goal is to ensure that retailers enjoy tremendous savings due to reduced fraud, elimination of paper processing and minimal check returns."

"We believe no other processor can provide the same range of payment services, in ACH and paper check services, and also in our other payment processing products," Harris added.

"EZCheck has enjoyed a long-term relationship with ECHO, having partnered with them since 1999," said Randy Rutledge, President and CEO, EZCheck Check Services. "ECHO's ACH processing services have proven to be exceptionally reliable and this partnership gives EZCheck a strategic and technological advantage in the market. The National Check Network authorization database is, we believe, second to none. When combined with ECHO's other check risk management capabilities, we are ideally positioned to offer the best in check services to our clients," Rutledge added.

About Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO)

Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (www.echo-inc.com) is one of the leading electronic payment processors in the nation, providing debit and credit card processing, check guarantee, check verification, check conversion, check re-presentment, and check collection. Partnering with banks, collection agencies and other trusted partners, we extend the reach of our payment processing market in merchant locations in all 50 states, encompassing retail and service businesses, Internet businesses, mail order and telephone order, non-profit organizations, and more. Headquartered in Camarillo, California, ECHO processes an average of 3 million Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions per month.

About EZCheck(R) Check Services, Inc.

EZCheck is a leading information and payment services company serving thousands of businesses nationwide in a wide variety of industries. As one of the initial pioneers in electronic check conversion at the retail point-of-sale, EZCheck has leveraged its advanced technology and systems to expand its product line into adjacent markets including accounts receivable conversion and recurring payments services. In addition, EZCheck provides a complete line of check guarantee, check verification and collection services to the retail community and is ranked among the top providers of check services in the country. EZCheck is dedicated to providing unsurpassed value and service to its customers. The company markets through a national network of independent sales organizations and supports operations from its headquarters in Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit EZCheck's web site at www.ezchk.com.

Contacts
Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
Donna Rehman, 800-262-3246, ext. 8533
corp@echo-inc.com
or
Financial Relations Board
Erin Cox, 310-854-8319
ecox@financialrelationsboard.com
or
EZCheck Check Services, Inc.
Randy Rutledge, 800-797-5302
randyr@ezchk.com