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Tokyo, November 7, 2002 - JCB International
Co., Ltd announced its US subsidiary, JCB
International Credit Card Co., Ltd. based
in Los Angeles, has teamed up with Vital
Processing Services® (Vital®),
a recognized leader in technology-based
commerce enabling services in the US market
to promote smart card usage in the United
States.
JCB International also announced that
on October 29, 2002, it completed its first
live end-to-end smart card transaction
with VITAL. As a result of this successful
achievement, in early 2003, JCB and Vital
will partner with Honolulu-based First
Hawaiian Bank, a subsidiary of BancWest
Corporation to launch a JCB smart card
pilot project in Hawaii.
JCB is the fourth largest credit card
brand in the world with over 42 million
card members. JCB Cards are accepted at
nearly 10 million merchants in 189 countries/territories
including more than one million in North
and South America. JCB has a strong presence
in the Asia & Pacific region and is
committed to further increasing its presence
in the United States. Vital has long served
as a processor of JCB credit card transactions
and is now expanding its services to include
processing of JCB smart card transactions.
"Our expanded relationship with JCB
shows Vital's commitment to be a leader
in processing all payment forms and all
payment brands, " said Vital President
and CEO, Jonathan Palmer. "The smart
card market has been slow to develop in
the U.S., but it is making its leap across
the Pacific. We are pleased to be able
to support JCB as they pave the way for
smart card acceptance in the U.S."
The launch of the JCB smart card pilot
in Hawaii will use smart card terminals
manufactured by Hypercom Corporation (NYSE:
HYC), the global leader in smart, fast
and easy-to-use card payment technology.
Atsushi Niimura, President of JCB International
Co., Ltd., said, "We are very much
excited about this opportunity to work
with Vital, First Hawaiian Bank and Hypercom.
Although the U.S. market is rather slow
in its smart card migration, we are proud
that we can show our readiness for the
chip deployment, and we welcome any opportunity
to further increase JCB's presence in the
market."
About First Hawaiian Bank
First Hawaiian Bank (www.fhb.com),
founded in 1858, is Hawaii's oldest financial
institution. The bank is headquartered
in Honolulu and has 56 branches throughout
Hawaii, three in Guam and two in Saipan.
First Hawaiian is one of the main subsidiaries
of Honolulu-based BancWest Corporation
(www.bancwestcorp.com),
the 25th largest U.S. bank holding company
with assets of $34.3 billion and operations
in seven Western states. BancWest is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based
BNP Paribas.
About Hypercom Corporation
Hypercom Corporation is the leading global
provider of electronic payment solutions
that add value at the point-of-sale for
consumers, merchants and acquirers, and
yield increased profitability for its
customers. Hypercom's products include
secure web-enabled information and transaction
terminals that work seamlessly with its
networking equipment and software applications
for e-commerce, m-commerce, smart cards
and traditional payment applications.
Hypercom's widely-accepted ePOS-infocommerce® (epic)
framework of consumer-activated, EMV-certified,
touch-screen ICE (Interactive Consumer
Environment) information and transaction
terminals enable acquirers and merchants
to decrease costs, increase revenues
and improve customer retention. Headquartered
in Phoenix, Arizona, Hypercom maintains
an installed base of more than 5 million
terminals in over 100 countries, which
conduct over 10 billion transactions
annually. Hypercom's web site is www.hypercom.com.
About Vital Processing Services
A leader in technology-based commerce enabling
services, Vital Processing Services® (Vital®)
is the commerce connection between acquirers
and merchants, processing one out of
every four authorized payment transactions
in North America. From authorizing and
capturing electronic payments at the
merchant point of sale, to clearing and
settling transactions, Vital provides
highly reliable, integrated end-to-end
processing services to more than 300
acquirers and over one million merchants.
Vital processes all payment types for
merchants of all sizes from a wide array
of industries and provides merchants
and acquirers with the information and
tools to efficiently manage their payment
processing businesses. Vital is a merchant
processing joint venture of Visa U.S.A.
and TSYS® ("NYSE: TSS").
Additional information regarding Vital
can be found at www.vitalps.com.
About JCB Co., Ltd.
JCB is an international credit card brand and the largest card issuer/acquirer
in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding
overseas in 1981. Its merchant network includes 9.28 million merchants and spans
189 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories,
with 42 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB
has formed alliances with more than 320 leading banks and financial institutions
globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. JCB's corporate philosophy
of "Service from the heart", a commitment to responsive, high-quality
service, continues to guide it as it creates the future together with its customers,
merchants and partners. For further information, please visit the JCB International
homepage at http://www.jcbinternational.com.
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