Commerce Bank Awards Angila Carlo $10,000 in Skip the PIN, Sign and Win Sweepstakes

ST. LOUIS - August 5, 2003 - Commerce Bank announced today that it awarded Angila Carlo of Ballwin $10,000 as part of its VisaŽ Check Card "Skip the PIN, Sign and Win" sweepstakes that awards cash prizes to randomly selected sweepstakes entrants.

Carlo, 22, is a Loan Servicing Representative for Heartland Bank in St. Louis. She entered the sweepstakes when using her VisaŽ Check Card to make a $3.41 purchase at Einstein Bagels in Ballwin. She said she uses her card all the time. "I never carry cash with me, and am always using my VisaŽ Check Card even for small purchases," said Carlo. "Using my check card really paid off this time!" She plans to use the $10,000 to purchase a car, pay bills and put some of her reward in savings.

"Now in its fifth year, we extended the cycle of 'Skip the PIN, Sign and Win' for the entire year and added three additional bonus prizes," said Mark Tankesley, Senior Vice President with Commerce Bank. "The more times a cardholder makes a signature-based transaction, then the more chances the customer will have to win."

"We hope to continue building awareness of the consumer benefits surrounding signature-based check card transactions with the contest," Tankesley added. Every time a Commerce Bank Visa Check Card customer selects "credit" and signs for his or her purchase, he or she is entered in the sweepstakes. There is no waiting period for eligibility after a card is issued. Complete sweepstakes rules and alternative forms of entry are described at the Commerce Bank website at www.commercebank.com. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

"Now in its fifth year, we extended the cycle of 'Skip the PIN, Sign and Win' for the entire year and added three additional bonus prizes," said Mark Tankesley, Senior Vice President with Commerce Bank. "The more times a cardholder makes a signature-based transaction, then the more chances the customer will have to win."

Benefits of Signature-Based Debits
Signature-based transactions have a number of measurable benefits check cardholders may not be aware of, some of which are:

• Commerce Bank's Zero Liability Policy eliminates the customers' liability for any unauthorized transactions that might take place. Customers must notify Commerce Bank within 60 days of receiving a statement showing unauthorized account activity.
• Customers can dispute purchases of goods and services that were never delivered or do not meet their expectations.

From January through December of 2003, Commerce Bank will select a $1,000 winner every week. A bonus prize of $10,000 is awarded at the end of March, June and September. A final grand prize of $25,000 will be awarded after the end of the year.

About Commerce Bank
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH) is a $14 billion regional bank holding company. For more than 135 years, Commerce has been meeting the financial services needs of individuals and businesses. Commerce provides a diversified line of financial services, including business and personal banking, wealth management and estate planning, and investments through its affiliated companies. Commerce Bancshares operates across three states with more than 330 locations and also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, credit related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For additional information, please visit www.commercebank.com or email mymoney@commercebank.com

Website: www.commercebank.com
e-mail: mymoney@commercebank.com
SYMBOL: CBSH

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