FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For information contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc.:
Lawrence E. Dennedy or Robert C. Marese - (800) 322-2885

        JANA PARTNERS LLC FILES IN FEDERAL COURT TO FORCE INTERCEPT, INC.
                          TO HONOR SHAREHOLDERS RIGHTS

New York, New York --  April 26, 2004 - JANA  Partners  LLC  ("JANA")  announced
today that it has filed a counterclaim for injunctive and declaratory  relief in
Georgia federal court to force InterCept,  Inc. (NASDAQ - ICPT) ("InterCept") to
comply with its  longstanding  bylaw  provision  requiring  the election of four
directors to InterCept's  board of directors at InterCept's  2004 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders.  When JANA nominated four directors for election to InterCept's
six person board on April 5, 2004,  InterCept's  own bylaws provided that anyone
placed on the board to fill a vacancy  created by the  resignation of a director
would serve only until the next meeting of  shareholders,  which would result in
four directors being up for election this year. However,  after receiving notice
of JANA's nomination,  InterCept's board, without shareholder approval,  amended
the bylaw,  seeking to strip  shareholders  of this right.  In its court filing,
JANA also seeks  alternative  relief to bring other  proposals  to a vote at the
Annual Meeting.

JANA  is  also  seeking  the  court  to  force InterCept to turn over all of the
information  to JANA  that it is  entitled  to  under  Georgia  law in  order to
effectively  communicate  with its fellow  shareholders  in connection  with the
annual meeting.  While JANA made its information requests on April 5th and again
on April 8th, InterCept to date has not turned over all of the information JANA
has requested.

In  a  letter  sent  to John W. Collins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
InterCept,  today by JANA  Partners  Managing  Member Barry S.  Rosenstein,  Mr.
Rosenstein said:

          " We find the recent  actions taken by you and  management to deny the
          shareholders of InterCept their full voting and information  rights to
          be repugnant to the  standards of good  corporate  governance to which
          all public companies are bound. Because you and management seem not to
          be aware,  we would like to remind you that laws  giving  shareholders
          the right to vote,  providing  shareholders with access to information
          about  the  company  and  preventing   management   from   entrenching
          themselves at the expense of shareholders  are in place because public
          companies  like  InterCept  are to be run for  the  benefit  of  their
          shareholders,  not for the benefit of you,  the board of  directors or
          management."

Mr. Rosenstein went on to say in his letter that:

          "Your and management's response in almost every case has been solely
          dedicated to denying or delaying these basic shareholder rights and
          therefore today we have filed in Georgia federal court to force you
          and management to honor InterCept's obligations to its shareholders."

The  complete  text of Mr.  Rosenstein's  letter  sent  today to Mr.  Collins is
attached to this press release.

BACKGROUND

In October,  2003,  InterCept  announced  that its Chairman and Chief  Executive
Officer,  John W. Collins,  intended to make an offer to take InterCept private,
and that the  InterCept  board of  directors  had  formed a special  independent
committee to evaluate the  possible  sale of the Company.  On December 12, 2003,
InterCept  announced  that Mr.  Collins  would  not be  making an offer but that
"several  third  parties  initiated  contact  with  the  special  committee  and
expressed  interest in InterCept,  and the special  committee will be evaluating
those indications of interest." Less than two months later, InterCept's board of
directors  terminated  the sale  process and  dissolved  the special  committee.
Following the decision not to continue  with the sale  process,  on February 13,
2004, two of the three independent directors on the special committee,  Boone A.
Knox (the then Vice  Chairman)  and Jon R.  Burke,  resigned  as a result of the
decision.

If elected,  the  directors  nominated  by JANA would  constitute  a majority of
InterCept's  six-person  board and  intend to  immediately  engage a  nationally
recognized investment banking firm to conduct a full and fair review of the best
value-maximizing options for shareholders, including sale of the company.

CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING PARTICIPANTS

JANA Partners LLC manages  securities  portfolios  with assets of  approximately
$1.4 billion and  currently  owns  1,619,937  shares  (approximately  8%) of the
common stock of InterCept.

The following individuals have consented to being nominated by JANA Partners LLC
for election as directors of  InterCept at  InterCept's  2004 Annual  Meeting of
Shareholders:

     o Barry S. Rosenstein,  45, has been a Managing Member of JANA Partners LLC
     since 2001. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Rosenstein was a Principal of Sagaponack
     Partners, L.P., a private equity fund.
     o Gary Claar,  37, has been a Managing  Member of JANA  Partners  LLC since
     2001.  From 1999 to 2001,  Mr. Claar was a Principal  of Marathon  Advisors
     LLC, an investment fund.
     o Kevin J. Lynch, 35, has been a Principal of JANA Partners LLC since 2001.
     From  1999 to 2001,  Mr.  Lynch was an  Investment  Analyst  at  Sagaponack
     Partners, L.P.
     o Marc Weisman, 51, has been a Principal of Sagaponack  Partners,  L.P. for
     more than the past five years.

The principal  business  address of Mr. Claar is 200 Park Avenue,  New York, New
York 10166. The principal  business  address of Mr.  Rosenstein and Mr. Lynch is
201 Post Street,  Suite 1000, San  Francisco,  California  94108.  The principal
business  address of Mr. Weisman is 645 Fifth Avenue,  New York, New York 10022.

Each of these  nominees  has  agreed,  if  elected,  to serve as a  director  of
InterCept. JANA Partners does not expect that any of its nominees will be unable
to stand  for  election  or  serve as a  director,  but if any  vacancy  in JANA
Partners' slate occurs for any reason (including if InterCept makes or announces
any changes to its bylaws or takes or announces any other action that has, or if
completed would have, the effect of  disqualifying  any or all of JANA Partners'
nominees),  JANA Partners will vote for the substitute candidate(s) nominated by
JANA Partners in compliance  with the rules of the SEC and any other  applicable
law and, if applicable, InterCept's bylaws.

JANA Partners LLC intends to file a proxy statement and other relevant documents
with the SEC in support of the election of Messrs. Rosenstein,  Claar, Lynch and
Weisman to the InterCept board.  INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT
WHEN IT BECOMES  AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT  DOCUMENTS  FILED WITH THE SEC
BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.  You will be able to obtain the
documents  free of charge at the SEC's website,  www.sec.gov.  JANA Partners LLC
and  Messrs.  Rosenstein,   Claar,  Lynch  and  Weisman  may  be  deemed  to  be
participants in the  solicitation of proxies from the  shareholders of InterCept
in connection with the annual meeting. Information about these participants will
be set forth in the proxy  statement  filed by JANA  Partners  LLC with the SEC.
Investors may obtain additional  information by reading the proxy statement when
it becomes available.