Tokyo, December 16, 2002 - JCB International Co., Ltd., the international arm of major Japanese credit card company JCB Co. Ltd., has signed an agreement with Turkey's major bank, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S., through which Turkiye Garanti Bankasi will represent the JCB brand in merchant acquiring operations and processing in Turkey. The new arrangement will start in December 2002.

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi is part of the Dogus Group which boasts the largest operations system and network in Turkey. The bank has 297 branches, and is number one in terms of volume of international credit card transactions and number three in affiliated merchants with a total of 60.500 POS terminals. These merchants will be phasing in JCB card acceptance beginning December 2002.

JCB has had an agreement with Anadolu Kredi Karti Turizm since 1993, and through this new partnership with Turkiye Garanti Bankasi the number of merchants accepting the JCB card will eventually increase by 38,000.

Turkey, standing between Europe and Asia, has many historical and cultural resources that appeal to travelers from Japan and elsewhere. The new partnership will expand JCB card acceptability significantly in Istanbul and other areas, while the JCB brand will further increase the strength of the bank's merchant network, particularly in terms of attracting Japanese travelers.

About Turkiye Garanti Bankasi
Established in 1946 Garanti is one of the largest privately owned bank in Turkey with total assets of US$11,4 billion according to the financial statements for the third quarter of 2002.
Investments in systems technology have made Garanti an automation leader providing
24-hour banking services via Garanti Internet branch, "Alo Garanti", full-function, live-agent telephone banking, and ATM network with four other banks having more than 3000 ATMs.
Garanti is an important acquirer in domestic payments with US$1.8 billion for the year 2001. Garanti is also the leader in international acquiring, with volume of US$306 million and a market share of 30%.