STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) today announced a strategic partnership between its Capital Services division and CapitalStream(TM) to offer CapitalStream customers online escrow services from PitneyEscrow.

CapitalStream is a hosted e-finance platform that provides infrastructure on which the commercial finance industry can streamline workflow from origination to documentation. With PitneyEscrow, CapitalStream's customers gain an additional payment option and greater security for their online transactions. In accordance with the agreement, PitneyEscrow will be linked to CapitalStream's network and will receive a fee for every escrow transaction executed on CapitalStream.com using the service.

In the world of e-commerce, a customer may buy a piece of equipment that they are unable to inspect or can only view in a digital picture on a Web site. In these situations customers use escrow services to protect their online purchases. CapitalStream customers can now elect to have their payment securely held until receipt of the equipment, at which time the payment is released to the manufacturer or vendor. This makes a more secure transaction for the customer.

Pitney Bowes is building on its heritage of being a trusted online financial solutions provider by providing procurement companies, suppliers and auction sites with versatile payment systems for their business operations. Spearheaded by its flagship product PitneyEscrow, the company's Capital Services division has been successful at bringing numerous e-marketplaces into the fold of its online business alliance.

"We are excited to team up with a leading e-commerce partner like CapitalStream, and are pleased to provide their customers with a secure online payment solution," said Mike Ryan, vice president of Pitney Bowes Capital Services. Ryan continued, "Together with CapitalStream we will be able to meet increasing demand for software applications that solve business needs throughout the value chain."

"By partnering with PitneyEscrow, our customers can have their money securely held in escrow until they receive their equipment from the manufacturer," said Steve Campbell, president and CEO of CapitalStream. "This allows us to facilitate a more secure transaction for our customers with the escrow option."

About Pitney Bowes Capital Services

Pitney Bowes Capital Services is a market leader of large-ticket equipment financing for the Fortune 1000. Through its PitneyB2BCapital suite of products and services, the company is also rapidly becoming a leading facilitator of online financial services. Additional information on the PitneyB2BCapital suite can be found at http://www.pitneyb2bcapital.pb.com or PitneyEscrow at http://www.pitneyescrow.pb.com. Pitney Bowes Capital Services is a division of Pitney Bowes Inc., a $4.4 billion global provider of messaging management. Additional information on Pitney Bowes can be found at http://www.pitneybowes.com.

About CapitalStream(TM)

Seattle-based CapitalStream provides hosted e-commerce solutions for commercial financing, a $4 trillion global industry. The company provides infrastructure and tools that enable finance companies and manufacturers to create branded financing sites, tailor finance programs, build credit workflow, retrieve credit scores and content, and offer financing at the point of purchase. CapitalStream, an established industry leader for more than five years with deep knowledge about the inner workings of the financing world, has helped several hundreds of financial organizations increase their competitiveness, customer service and profitability.

    Pitney Bowes Contacts:

    Kelly O'Brien                       A.J. Goodman
    Pitney Bowes Capital Services       PR 21 for Pitney Bowes
    Tel: 203-922-4291                   Capital Services
    Fax: 203-922-4083                   Tel: 212-299-8986
    kobrien@pbfs.com                    Fax: 212-462-1026
                                        aj.goodman@pr21.com

    CapitalStream(TM) Contacts:

    Jennifer Fox                        Lisa Geschke
    Capital Stream Inc.                 Parker LePla
    Tel: (206)-548-1651                 Tel: 206-625-1541
    jenniferf@capitalstream.com         lisag@parkerlepla.com

SOURCE Pitney Bowes

CONTACT: Kelly O'Brien of Pitney Bowes Capital Services, 203-922-4291, or fax, 203-922-4083, kobrien@pbfs.com; or A.J. Goodman of PR 21, 212-299-8986, or fax, 212-462-1026, aj.goodman@pr21.com, for Pitney Bowes Capital Services; or Jennifer Fox of Capital Stream Inc., 206-548-1651, jenniferf@capitalstream.com; or Lisa Geschke of Parker LePla, 206-625-1541,