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- Over a quarter of Canadians who bank online use EasyWeb - Only eight years after its debut, Canada's most popular banking website hosts one billion transactions a year - And Pluto is still in the planetary doghouse... TORONTO, Nov. 19 /CNW/ - A lot can happen in eight years. In 1999, the top hit single is "Baby One More Time" by newcomer Britney Spears. Perhaps taking the cue, world population tops six billion. The Euro is introduced. Pluto is drummed out of the planet club. The world gears up for Y2K and for Millennium celebrations. Nunavut is born. And just over 40% of Canadians (12.7 million people) use the internet. That same year, TD Canada Trust launches EasyWeb, its online banking service. In just 12 months, EasyWeb reaches 648,148 customers and is awarded the "Best Online Banking Product" by Quicken International. Fast-forward to autumn 2007. Y2K is a distant non-event, world population is estimated at 6.6 billion ("Oops!.... I did it Again"?) and more than two-thirds of Canadians (22 million people) use the Internet. But poor Pluto is still classified as a dwarf planet. And EasyWeb? TD Canada Trust celebrates a milestone by signing on its 4 millionth online banking customer, making EasyWeb the largest, most popular online bank in Canada. EasyWeb now conducts more than a billion transactions and enquiries a year. "Among the twenty-two million Canadians today who are internet users, almost one-in-five of them are EasyWeb customers," says Alexandra Shaw, Vice President, Internet Banking, TD Canada Trust. Customer Dennis Psiuk, who has been with EasyWeb since the beginning, reflects on how ABMs, counter service and online banking are interconnected. "Sometimes you need to visit a branch, if not to do transactions, then just to get some advice. I like the fact that when I walk in there is the bank machine, and I can still go to the counter. But my preference is online banking. It's easy, fast and sweet." Another long-time customer who joined EasyWeb when online banking was still in its infancy in Canada is Randall Smith. Smith likes the 24/7 aspect of EasyWeb and the convenience in paying bills. "I use conventional mail to pay one bill once a month for one company because they aren't on EasyWeb. If they were, it would be nice." EasyWeb has been repeatedly recognized by organizations such as Global Finance, Interactive Reid Report, JD Power, and the Synovate Customer Service Index for its website design, online deposit system, information security initiatives and quality of customer service, among other attributes. Canadian consumers on the whole have embraced internet banking: - According to a recent Interactive Reid Report, 62% of Canadians with an Internet connection have conducted at least one online banking transaction - Statistics Canada's 2005 "Canadian Internet Use Study" states that, "About 6 in every 10 home users (58%) used (the Internet) to do their banking, and 55% used it to pay their bills online. - There has been a 400% growth in online payments since the CBA began tracking such data in 1999. The site offers a variety of services and security features, including: - The EasyWeb Security Guarantee. TD Canada Trust promises 100% reimbursement in the unlikely event account losses occur resulting from unauthorized EasyWeb activity; - The ability to make bill payments to over 5,000 companies nationwide; - The ability to transfer money between TD Canada Trust, TD Waterhouse and TD Mutual Funds accounts in real-time (same and foreign currency); - The Interac Email Money Transfer service to transfer money from personal TD Canada Trust bank account to anyone with an email address and a bank account at a Canadian financial institution;(1) - The ability to transfer money in real-time between personal and business accounts. "Everything about EasyWeb has been designed with ease of use and one-stop banking and investing as the goal," concludes Shaw. "Our growth over the past eight years to become the market leader in Canada is based on a simple fact: Canada's 'comfortable bank' is also the most comfortable for online customers." About TD Canada Trust --------------------- The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial Group serves more than 14 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking including TD Canada Trust; Wealth Management including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities; and U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking through TD Banknorth. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's leading on-line financial services firms, with more than 4.5 million on-line customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$392.9 billion in assets, as of October 31, 2006. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges under the symbol "TD". --------------------------- (1) Although only Canada's major chartered banks allow for online sending and receiving, customers who do not bank online or use a major chartered bank are still able to collect funds offline. However, their financial institution must be Canadian. TD Canada Trust EasyWeb - By the Numbers The award-winning EasyWeb is the largest, most popular online bank in Canada. Available 24/7, EasyWeb provides consumers the freedom, flexibility and security to manage their saving and chequing account activities online. EasyWeb Numbers ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 million Number of customers currently registered for EasyWeb internet banking ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 648,148 Number of customers who registered for EasyWeb in the first year (1999) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.9 million Number of customers who have signed up for the environmentally friendly paperless recording ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 billion Number of transactions performed in the last 12 months ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 million Number of bill payments processed each month ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,000 Number of companies customers can make bill payments to ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 Number of times EasyWeb has been ranked No.1 or listed as "The Best" since 1999. Awards include being ranked No.1 by Global Finance in 2007 for Best Consumer Internet Bank in Canada, Best Investment Management Services in North America, Best Online Deposits Acquisitions in North America, and Best Information Security Initiatives in North America ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 Percentage of Canadians who use TD Canada Trust EasyWeb Internet banking(1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 424 Number of astronomers who voted to demote Pluto to a lesser category of planet(2) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industry Numbers ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Percentage of Canadians who used the internet as their primary banking method in 2000(3) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 Percentage of Canadians with an internet connection who, according to an Interactive Reid Report, have conducted at least one online banking transaction(4) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58 Percentage of Canadian home users who used the internet to do their banking in 2006(5) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55 Percentage of Canadian home users who used the internet to pay their bills online in 2006(6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 400 Percentage that the online payment transactions have increased since the Canadian Bankers Association started tracking them in 1999(7) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ (1) The Canadian Interactive Reid Report, Quarter 1, 2007 (2) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5283956.stm (3) Canadian Bankers Association. http://www.cba.ca/en/content/stats/fastfacts/070226%20-%20Ways% 20Canadians%20Bank.pdf (4) Interactive Reid Report, July 2007 (5) Statistics Canada. The Daily Online. August 15, 2006. (6) Statistics Canada. The Daily Online. August 15, 2006. (7) Canadian Bankers Association. http://www.cba.ca/en/content/stats/Fast%20Stats%20_2006_.pdf /NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca. Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/ For further information: Kelly Hechler, Media Relations, Corporate and Public Affairs, TD Bank Financial Group, (416) 982-2469, kelly.hechler@td.com

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