April 21, 2000

" Basically, if you can read and type LeaseNOW 2000 will put you in the leasing business." ( from last sent of the press release )

Bob Rodi will allow certain brokers to download the program, but would like to coordinate this, and if you are interested, I would suggest you contact him direct at drlease@leasenow.com ( I will download it next week and give a report on it )

Happy Easter, Passover, too
kit menkin

About LeaseNOW, Inc.

LeaseNOW, Inc. and its predecessor, the American Lease Exchange are a privately held independent lessor that was founded in 1989 by its current principals. The company has a long history of PC based marketing and was the first B to B advertiser on the original Prodigy Service in 1989. The company also maintained sites on the Genie Network and Compuserve until 1993 when management made the decision to develop and deploy its own PC based point of sale leasing system. LeaseNOW 2000 is the third and most robust software package deployed by LeaseNOW, inc. Bob Rodi, President of LeaseNOW, Inc. also serves as President of the UAEL and is a member of the Fair-Isaac Client Advisory Board for North American Markets.

Press Release

LeaseNOW, Inc
Pittsburgh, PA

LeaseNOW, Inc. announces the release of LeaseNOW 2000.

LeaseNOW, Inc. of Warrendale, PA announced the release of its exclusive software package LeaseNOW 2000. LeaseNOW 2000 combines the best of technological advancements with the "Hi Tech/Hi Touch" approach that customers sorely miss in the impersonal world of the internet.

LeaseNOW 2000 delivers on-line application processing, tracking, status and documentation in one easy to use software package that resides on the desk top of the user. LeaseNOW 2000 also equips users with 5 levels of Risk Based Pricing and a unique tool known as the Risk Level Wizard that allows the user to "pre-qualify" their transaction according to their own credit profile. Users can construct "What-if" scenarios by manipulating variables such as advance payments, residuals, security deposits and term. After selecting the variables the user simply presses "Calc" to have the payment displayed. The calculator is also equipped with a "preview" function that displays multiple pricing scenarios. Unlike most web based calculators LeaseNOW 2000 uses a series of sophisticated formulae rather than a simple "look up" table. This provides users with far more flexibility when structuring payments. If a user so desires, the calculator interface can be opened multiple times on the user's screen for side by side comparison. The Calculator and Risk Level Wizard has also been "web enabled" and will be deployed on the company's web site within the next two weeks.

The user also has a choice of delivery options. If the user has a high speed internet connection the software will use that connection to deliver an application directly to LeaseNOW's Fair-Isaac SBSS Credit Desk Interface. If the user does not have "always on" access or if the user is away from the office all they need is a modem. LeaseNOW, Inc. also functions as an ISP and will provide LeaseNOW 2000 users with "dial up" access through its communication server. The system is designed to handle 30 simultaneous callers and is capable of processing up to 600 applications per hour. The "dial up" delivery coupled with Internet delivery literally gives LeaseNOW 2000 users access to credit processing from anywhere on the planet earth.

Bob Rodi, President of LeaseNOW, Inc states "We felt that limiting our users to internet access only was leaving a lot of potential money on the table and excluding many small to medium sized vendors who may not have internet access in the work place as yet. We are betting on the fact that most small businesses that purchased a computer in the past 3-5 years will have at least a 14.4 modem. If that's the case that's all they need to have an application delivered to us and processed in a couple of minutes. Our system has been designed to accommodate even the lowest common denominator. We believe that this is the true way to build brand identity and loyalty."

When a user installs LeaseNOW 2000 on their PC, a LeaseNOW 2000 icon is created. "We didn't want our customers having to surf the net looking for us nor did we want customers to be subjected to error messages and equipment outages" says Rodi. You can surf the internet from LeaseNOW 2000 if you want to, however. One unique feature of the software is the "built in" LeaseNOW browser.

Rodi states " if a customer is working with our software and needs something from our web site, or if they want to compare our pricing to some internet based company we provide the tools to do it." All the user need do is click the LeaseNOW Web browser and they are instantly transported to LeaseNOW's internet site at www.leasenow.com. From there they can use the LeaseNOW browser like any other browser on their desk top. "Our software is perfect for a remotely deployed field sales force who may find themselves working with a variety of different communications scenarios. Our goal in the design of LeaseNOW 2000 was to provide our vendors with the most powerful utility available. That meant developing tight integration with our web site.

The fact is that there are still a lot of software features that are best deployed in the desk top environment and not on the internet. Integrating the software and the web site was the best solution. The equation is simple. Make it user friendly, useful, powerful and flexible and we get a lot more business and create barriers that are extremely difficult for our competitors to overcome. If controlling the desk top was good enough for Microsoft and Netscape to go to war over then it's definitely an approach LeaseNOW will take" states Rodi

The entire interface is being "web enabled" so that it can be operated as an extranet. Rodi states "Our users will be able to deliver an application using a dial up connection if they are in the field. When they get back to the office and to a more favorable connection they will be able to log on to the LeaseNOW extranet. We have deployed a secure VPN to facilitate this. "Triggers" in our various SQL databases will constantly cause the databases to update each other. If you deliver something via "dial up" you will be able to log on through the web and check status in a matter of minutes".

LeaseNOW is also adding an IVR (integrated voice response) module to its web site. The company has deployed a VoIP phone system that supports the H.323 internet phone standard. Customers will reach LeaseNOW by clicking a "Talk to a LeaseNOW Representative" button on the website. LeaseNOW's telephony server is also configured as an Internet Gateway that will support IVR and internet telephony.

LeaseNOW 2000 is free to capital equipment vendors, re sellers, systems integrators, manufacturers reps, franchisers or any company who could benefit from having ready access to a "rapid response" credit approval system. Rodi states "There is no doubt that the internet is impacting the way we do business. A lot of people seem to forget however that well over 90% of the lease applications originated come as the direct result of a vendor's effort to control the sales process. The vendor isn't interested in shopping a transaction for a customer. The vendor is interested in making the sale. If you give a vendor a functional tool that allows them to approve, document and fund a transaction from their desk top PC you've taken away any incentive for them to even log on to the internet. We're also betting that vendors will see the profit potential with LeaseNOW 2000. Basically, if you can read and type LeaseNOW 2000 will put you in the leasing business."