COMMERCE BANK OFFERS INSTANT ISSUE UNEMBOSSED VISA^® CHECK CARDS AT SOME AREA BANKING CENTERS

Customers can now have immediate card access to their funds.

(St. Louis, MO – September 2, 2009) – Bank customers may no longer need to wait for their debit card when they open a checking account at Commerce Bank. One of the first banks in the area to offer an instant issue, unembossed Visa^® Check Card, Commerce Bank designed the program to give customers their personalized instant issue debit card the same day they open a new checking account with the bank. The card is immediately usable at ATM machines, stores and businesses. Commerce Bank is offering the card in 100 branches initially.

Traditionally when customers open a checking account, they wait five to seven days to receive an embossed debit card and personal identification number in the mail. Commerce Bank’s new instant issue unembossed Visa Check Card eliminates unnecessary wait time and gives customers the convenience of immediate card access to their funds. Instant issue unembossed cards are also available to existing customers who need replacement cards.

"Commerce Bank is committed to making banking easier for our customers," said Carl Bradbury, senior vice president, debit products, Commerce Bank. "By offering an instant issue, unembossed Visa Check Card, customers who prefer electronic payments immediately have access to the funds in their accounts."

"Our customers are surprised when we tell them they do not have to wait to get their card in the mail," Bradbury added. "In some cases, it’s a big relief for them to know that they have it in time for a trip, or when they need to replace a lost card."

Commerce Bank worked with Dynamic Card Solutions, LLC (www.instantissuance.com), the leading instant card issuance and PIN selection provider for financial institutions, to provide the personalized and instantly issued unembossed debit cards at the branch level.

Customers can choose from twelve different designs for their new card including scenes from Kansas City, St. Louis, Wichita and other Commerce markets. They will choose their Personal Identification Number (PIN) in the branch, thus eliminating a PIN being chosen for them and mailed to them. And, if a customer is at a branch that does not have instant issue capability currently, the customer can be directed to the nearest branch with instant issue if they want that card the same day.

Commerce Bank, ranked by J.D. Power and Associates as "Highest Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Midwest Region Two Years in a Row, Tied in 2009."

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. received the highest numerical score among retail banks in the Midwest (IL, OH, MO, WI, MI, IA) region in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-1009 Retail Banking Satisfaction Studies(SM). The 2009 study is based on a total of 28,570 responses measuring 21 providers in the region and measures opinions of consumers with their primary banking provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in January 2008. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

About Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank, N.A. is a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBSH), a $17.7 billion regional bank holding company. For more than 140 years, Commerce Bank has been meeting the financial services needs of individuals and businesses throughout the Midwest region. Commerce Bank provides a diversified line of financial services, including business and personal banking, wealth management and estate planning, and investments through its affiliated companies. Commerce Bank operates in 370 locations in the Central United States. Commerce Bancshares also has operating subsidiaries involved in mortgage banking, leasing, credit-related insurance, venture capital and real estate activities.

For additional information contact:

Email: mymoney@commercebank.com†