STAMFORD, Conn., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) announced that it has formed alliances with Polysort, TradeOut, and TRADEPAQ to offer the company's PitneyEscrow online escrow service, to support user transactions on their respective on-line business-to-business marketplaces. The new relationships provide buyers and sellers with a reliable and easy-to-use online payment solution for completing transactions.

"Our alliances with TradeOut (a global business-to-business Internet marketplace for excess and off-lease assets) TRADEPAQ (a provider of e-business infrastructure solutions for global trade) and Polysort (a group purchasing organization or GPO, for the plastics and rubber industries) further illustrate the global need for a reliable, secure and versatile online payment solution," said Mike Ryan, Vice President of Pitney Bowes Capital Services. "We are excited about the progress we are making in the rollout of PitneyEscrow, as we continue to further establish market presence with leading online marketplaces in a vast array of industries. Internet marketplaces are recognizing the value that a trusted funds management partner like Pitney Bowes can bring to their customers."

Once the terms of the online sale are established, the PitneyEscrow payment option seamlessly routes buyers and sellers to the PitneyEscrow site, where they can immediately process the payment. The escrow service ensures sellers that payment funds have been rendered prior to their shipment of goods. The service mutually guarantees buyers that they will receive the goods they purchased in the promised condition, while their funds are held by an established and respected, neutral company. Additionally, the service provides value to the marketplaces by keeping the buyer and seller online throughout the transaction process, which eliminates the risk of losing commissions offline.

"Our customers expect TRADEPAQ to provide them with out-of-the-box settlement connectivity, and escrow is an important settlement option," said Warren Fisher, Chief Operating Officer for TRADEPAQ. "By providing our customers with PitneyEscrow, their payment experience will be timely, reliable, and they will have the capability to execute any net market transaction requiring escrow services."

Over the past six months Pitney Bowes Capital Services has completed several integration agreements with a range of online marketplaces including ITParade.com, RetailExchange, SupplierMarket and Aeromatch.com. The strategic alliances with Polysort, TradeOut and TRADEPAQ are the latest in a series of agreements for Pitney Bowes, and serve as indicators of the momentum the company has experienced in the online financial services industry. PitneyEscrow is a rapidly developing service that is being used as a payment function for the transaction of retail inventory, IT and computer equipment, industrial and raw materials, and commodities globally.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4 billion global provider of integrated mail, messaging and document management solutions headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company serves over 2 million businesses of all sizes through dealer and direct operations. Pitney Bowes Capital Services, through its PitneyB2BCapital suite of products and services, is rapidly becoming a leading facilitator of online financial services. PitneyB2BCapital offers real-time, secure transactions using innovative proprietary technology, providing buyers and sellers with the security of a trusted third party. For additional information about Pitney Bowes, please visit our website at http://www.pitneybowes.com.

About Polysort

Polysort, founded in 1995, is a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) that works on behalf of both buyers and sellers to create group efficiencies for transactions made in the plastics industry. The company's member services include a full complement of online trading tools, industry news and information, networking opportunities, and web marketing programs to help businesses generate qualified sales leads. For more information, contact Polysort at (800) 326-8666 or visit http://www.polysort.com.

About TradeOut

TradeOut, a privately held company based in Valhalla, New York, is a business-to-business Internet marketplace for excess inventory and idle assets. TradeOut offers a fast and easy way to buy and sell business surplus, and features products for sale from a wide variety of industries, from consumer products to commercial transportation. For more information about TradeOut, visit http://www.tradeout.com, send e-mail to customerservice@tradeout.com or call 1-888-525-TRADE.

About TRADEPAQ:

TRADEPAQ is a leading provider of the e-business infrastructure required for global commerce. The company offers an innovative framework of solutions addressing the export, domestic, regulatory, financial, and logistics requirements necessary to complete e-business transactions. These solutions allow enterprises to deliver goods to their destinations on time and cost effectively. This allows enterprises to improve customer service, reduce working capital requirements, shorten the receivables cycle, and enter into new global markets.

TRADEPAQ solutions are used by B2B trading exchanges and Fortune 2000 manufacturers in industries such as paper, chemical, food products, metals, pharmaceutical, agricultural commodities, electronics, and automotive products in more than 24 countries worldwide.

Headquartered in New York City, TRADEPAQ operates in offices throughout Europe, Pacific/Asia and South America. For more information on TRADEPAQ and its products, visit their Web site at http://www.tradepaq.com.

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SOURCE Pitney Bowes Inc.

CONTACT: Kelly O'Brien of Pitney Bowes Capital Services, 203-922-4291, kobrien@pbfs.com, or Rebecca Zacher of PR21 for Pitney Bowes, 212-299-8996, rebecca.zacher@pr21.com/