Tokyo and Hong Kong, August 23, 2004 - JCB, the international payment brand, is pleased to announce that AsiaPay (HK) Limited, a leading Asian payment service provider, is adopting J/Secure™, the JCB payer authentication program. 20 major AsiaPay client merchants including Sinomedia Holdings (HK) Ltd and U Domain Web Hosting Co Ltd have started using the J/Secure program for online shopping. An additional 300 AsiaPay e-commerce client merchants are expected to follow immediately.

JCB designed the enhanced security of J/Secure to be an important tool in preventing credit card fraud online to protect its customers and provide greater confidence in credit card payment on the internet. J/Secure adds an important secret password identification step to the traditional online shopping process, verifying the identity of the person entering the card information. AsiaPay's merchant server is equipped with merchant server plug-in software (MPI) compliant with J/Secure technology, performing the authentication checking for the payment service provider's client merchants.

"J/Secure implementation promises a lot of benefits, as online shopping volume will only increase with time. We can protect our growing online payment transactions and avoid business losses due to card fraud, and this will certainly give JCB cardmembers more peace of mind when they shop on the internet", said Hiroshi Takahashi, Managing Director of JCB International (Asia) Limited.

JCB launched the J/Secure program in April 2004, and has been implementing it in e-commerce markets worldwide. AsiaPay's adoption of the program is the first in Hong Kong. JCB will continue to promote and deploy J/Secure providing higher levels of security worldwide, in response to the current and emerging needs of the global payment market.

About AsiaPay (HK) Limited
AsiaPay Limited, the company behind paydollar.com, was incorporated in Hong Kong in July 2000. Since then, AsiaPay has rapidly become a leading provider of internet and mobile payment services and technologies in Hong Kong and Asia. The company provides individuals and corporate entities with the latest electronic payment values that readily enhance one's quality of life and maximize business opportunities, efficiency and productivity. AsiaPay enables merchants of any size, whether internet, phone or mail order, to securely process credit card and debit account transactions in real time, 24 hours a day; and offers financial/banking industries a wide range of payment gateway, 3-D MPI and mobile payment solutions with high ROI and operating efficiency. Looking ahead, AsiaPay has formed strong strategic alliances with leading financial institutions and technology players to deliver the most comprehensive payment processing services and solutions in the industry.
For further information about AsiaPay, please visit at http://www.asiapay.com

About JCB Co., Ltd
JCB is an international credit card brand and the largest card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding overseas in 1981. Its merchant network includes 11.7 million merchants and spans 189 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories, with 51.6 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 and 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 Co. Ltd. home page at:
www.jcb-global.com/english or www.jcbinternational.com.