[LOGO] NEWS RELEASE


For  Immediate  Release

Contacts:  Danita Gibson-Lloyd               Virginia  Lewis  
           Corporate Communications Manager  Senior Account Executive 
           Total System  Services,  Inc.     Ketchum Public Relations 
           (706) 649-5578                    (404) 877-1842   
           dgibsonlloyd@totalsystem.com      virginia.lewis@ketchum.com

                   TSYS Further Expands International Presence

Columbus,    Ga.,    December    22,    1997   --   Total    System    Services,
Inc.(R)(TSYS(R))(NYSE:  "TSS")  today  announced  the  signing  of a  multi-year
agreement to provide  consumer card  (cardholder)  processing  services to Royal
Bank of Canada.  With the signing of Royal Bank, TSYS now processes for seven of
the leading  financial  institutions  in Canada.  This  contract  gives TSYS its
second major  signing in the  Canadian  region  behind the  recently  announced,
multi-year Canadian Tire Acceptance, Limited card processing agreement.

     Royal Bank's cardholder  portfolio totaling more than five million accounts
will  be  converted  to  TSYS'  state-of-the-art,  Year  2000  compliant  TS2(R)
Cardholder  System.  The bank, which  previously  processed their consumer cards
in-house, has been a commercial card customer of TSYS since 1995.

     TSYS  President  Philip  W.  Tomlinson  said,  Royal  Bank  has a  sterling
reputation  in the  industry.  We are honored that Royal Bank has chosen TSYS as
its  processor  of choice.  We look  forward to a long and  mutually  beneficial
relationship  based on the innovative  solutions  provided by our TS2 Cardholder
System."

     TS2 is the complete rewrite of TSYS' Cardholder System. The card processing
system  offers   exceptional  levels  of  service  and  performance  beyond  any
application in today's card processing domain.

     Executive Vice President Mark K. Tonnesen of Royal Bank of Canada said, "We
went through an exhaustive research and evaluation process before choosing TSYS.
This  partnership  creates a win-win  situation for Royal Bank,  our clients and
TSYS. It will enhance our ability to offer our  cardholders  new and  innovative
products in a timely manner."

                                    --more--

TSYS Further Expands  International  Presence /p.2

     TSYS'  processing  agreement with Royal Bank is conditional upon receipt of
regulatory  approval from  Canada's  Office of the  Superintendent  of Financial
Institutions.

     Headquartered in Columbus,  Ga., TSYS is one of the world's largest credit,
debit,   commercial  and  private-label  card  processing   companies,   serving
card-issuing  institutions throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and
Mexico,  representing more than 91 million cardholder accounts.  TSYS provides a
comprehensive  on-line system of data processing  services marketed as THE TOTAL
SYSTEM(R).  In 1996,  TSYS formed a joint venture with Visa(R) U.S.A.  to create
Vital  Processing  Services  L.L.C.  (www.vitalps.com),  a leading  full-service
merchant  services  provider.  TSYS' 1996 revenues  totaled $311.6 million;  the
company is an 80.7 percent owned  subsidiary of Synovus  Financial Corp.  (NYSE:
"SNV") (www.synovus.com), a $9.0 billion asset, multi-financial services company
and a component of the Standard  and Poors 500 Index.  Synovus also  includes 34
banking affiliates in four Southeastern states, a full-service brokerage firm, a
comprehensive  trust services provider and a mortgage  services  company.  TSYS'
Internet address is www.totalsystem.com.

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