Bank of Ireland Group Launches Net Guardian; Europe's First Virtual Credit Card Powered by Trintech Technologies.

Business Editors

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2000

Bank of Ireland Group (NYSE:IRE), a leading Irish financial services group, today announced that it is to launch Ireland's and Europe's first virtual credit wallet, powered by Trintech's Payware eIssuer Technology.

Net Guardian is a powerful and secure consumer payment tool for Internet transactions unrivalled by any other product in the market. It was designed by Trintech and extensively tested by Bank of Ireland to meet stringent security requirements for payments over the Internet. Net Guardian protects both Bank and customer, combining a strong risk management capability with ease of use and greatly enhanced security features.

Net Guardian is a break-through development in online payment security, which ensures that card-holder details are authenticated and authorized before a transaction is conducted. Customers will download the software to their PCs where it will sit until required to make an online payment. They will see a customized Bank-branded virtual card icon with a convenient drag and drop facility for the automatic completion of the purchasing form, without the need to transmit credit card details across the Internet. Net Guardian will be available to customers later this year.

Mr. Des O'Reilly, Managing Director of BOIe, Bank of Ireland's Internet Development Company, said:

"Bank of Ireland is among the first banks in Europe to provide eCommerce solutions for both credit card issuers and merchant acquirers. With both Net Guardian and Clikpay -- our acquiring solution -- we are addressing one of the major barriers to the growth of Internet purchasing, i.e. customer concerns regarding security. Net Guardian is the second significant announcement from BOIe since its formation and follows our recent Internet share trading announcement. Further innovative services will be announced in the coming weeks."

Mr. Billy Saunderson, Head of Card Services, Bank of Ireland said:

"We are delighted to be associated with Trintech in launching Europe's first virtual credit card. Net Guardian is a significant advance in both the security and convenience of online payments. We hope that this development will support further rapid growth in the area of online purchasing."

Mr. Cyril McGuire, Chairman of Trintech Technologies, said:

"We share Bank of Ireland's vision in bringing both convenience and security to the world of eCommerce. Our technology will provide Bank of Ireland with the secure payment infrastructure to help them achieve their eCommerce goals. Keeping the Internet payment experience both secure and convenient is key to developing confidence and is accelerating the adoption of this technology in this emerging business channel."

In addition to its US listing (NYSE:IRE), Bank of Ireland ordinary shares trade on the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange and prices may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbol BKIR ID, on the Reuters Equities 2000 Service under BKIR.I, and on Quotron under the symbol BKIRU.EU. Additional information is available on Bank of Ireland's home page: http://www.bankofireland.ie.