Tokyo, November 12, 2003 - JCB International Co., Ltd., the international subsidiary of a major Japanese credit card company JCB Co. Ltd., has signed an agreement with the Peru's largest network of credit and debit card acceptation in Peru, Visanet del Peru S.A. The Peruvian company will represent the JCB brand in acquiring and processing business in Peru. The new arrangement will take effect on November 12, 2003.

This is the first acquiring agreement for JCB in Peru. With this alliance, except for ATMs which already accept JCB under its worldwide alliance with the Cirrus network, Visanet Peru will introduce the JCB card into the credit card market of Peru for the first time.

Visanet Peru, headquartered in Lima, is the exclusive Visa acquirer in Peru. The company was established in 1997. Visanet del Peru provides acquiring services to 15,500 merchants, which covers almost all of credit card retailers in Peru. Following the new alliance, the JCB credit card will be phased in with these merchants from March 2004.

Both partners are looking forward to the benefits of this new alliance. Japanese business travel and holiday patterns have changed in recent years with a greater focus on individual mobility. JCB International determined that a broader merchant network base is needed in Peru to provide a complete service to JCB credit card users. Visanet del Peru, by adding JCB to its product line of international credit card brands, can now meet the needs of merchants that are interested in Japanese travelers, and strengthen its presence even more in the acquiring market in Peru.

About Visanet del Peru
Set up in 1997, 'La Compania Peruana de Pagos SAC', Visanet del Peru, is the company that administers the network of establishments affiliated to Visa and the largest network of credit and debit card acceptation in Peru. Its main objective is to get increasing numbers of people to replace cash with plastic. It has 15,500 affiliated establishments, enabling more than 3 million Peruvian Visa cardholders to carry out commercial transactions at national level. It offers the only dedicated electronic commerce system in Peru, to more than 300 national companies, which can carry out on-line transactions with the highest standards of security offered by the system 'Verified by Visa'. Visanet del Peru registered more than 24 million operations in 2002. For the present year, it expects 6% growth in the number of credit card transactions and 25% growth in Visa Electron debit transactions, and thus to reach more than 27 million operations. Visanet del Peru provides gateway services to American Express and Diners Club in Peru. Find out more about Visanet del Peru at http://www.visanet.com.pe/.