Nicholas Financial Counts on Verizon Business for Managed IP Network

Verizon Business to Oversee Connections to 43 Branch Office Sites in the United States

March 13, 2006, BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Business announced today that it has entered into a new agreement with Nicholas Financial, a financer of consumer auto loans, to provide a managed Private IP network that securely connects Nicholas Financial’s branch office network across the United States.

The company is securely transferring customer loan information over Verizon’s Private IP network linking its 43 branch offices in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.

"Customer privacy and security are critical to Nicholas Financial’s success" said Steve Young, group president for Verizon Business commercial accounts. "Verizon Business is helping Nicholas Financial evolve its network to achieve new cost savings and capabilities while achieving its security objectives. By managing the network from end to end, we assume the total cost of ownership and enable Nicholas Financial to focus on its customers"

Through Private IP, Verizon also offers the ability to scale quickly and easily to meet the needs of Nicholas Financial’s evolving requirements.

"Our auto financing business has grown dramatically, and we simply don’t have the time to handle our network operations" said Michael Marika, chief information officer of Nicholas Financial. "In addition, with Private IP, we have peace of mind knowing that our network is secure, reliable and flexible enough to better serve our customers and support our future business decisions. That all fits in with our strategy of carefully managing growth. Ultimately though, it was Verizon Business’ unparalleled level of service that sealed the deal"

Verizon Private IP is the company’s flagship MPLS-based VPN offering and fastest growing service, delivering flexible classes of service, any-to-any IP routing, and robust service-level agreements to carry data, voice and video traffic securely.

Today, Verizon Business manages nearly 3,400 customer networks in 142 countries, including overseeing more than 25,000 non-Verizon connections from more than 60 network providers around the world. As the former MCI, the company received the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Customer Service Leadership Award and the 2005 InfoWorld 100 Award. Verizon Business has a legacy of service and innovation in network management and leads the industry in service-level commitments.

About Nicholas Financial
Founded in 1985, with assets of $141,982,000 as of December 31, 2005, Nicholas Financial, Inc. is one of the largest publicly traded specialty consumer finance companies based in the Southeast. The Company presently operates out of 43 branch locations in both the Southeast and the Mid-West States. The Company has approximately 10,000,000 shares of common stock outstanding. For an index of Nicholas Financial Inc.’s news releases or to obtain a specific release, visit our web site at www.nicholasfinancial.com.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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Carolyn Tyler

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Verizon Business

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