MasterCard Makes Customer-Focused Smart Card Solutions a Reality.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1999--

Industry Leading Real-World Implementations

Showcased at CardTech SecurTech

MasterCard International today unveiled a wide range of solutions that leverage the power of the MULTOS operating system, part of its continuing efforts to deliver value-added, customer-focused smart card solutions to its member financial institutions. MasterCard, Mondex International and their partners showcased real-world smart card implementations that meet the needs of a wide range of MasterCard customers in the consumer, corporate and government marketplaces.

MasterCard's CTST news includes:

- MasterCard announced that Japan's MYCAL Card Company smart card

program - the world's first total migration from magnetic stripe

credit cards to multi-application smart cards using MULTOS - will

commence in September 1999 with the issuance of more than 500,000

smart cards. The program will have a market penetration of five

million cards throughout Japan when completed.

- MasterCard announced the creation of four MULTOS-based smart card

applications developed specifically to meet the needs of

corporate and government marketplaces.

- Hitachi, Ltd. announced that it will make available Mondex

electronic cash transaction processing services to U.S. financial

institutions that wish to implement Mondex electronic cash while

reducing the investment required to issue smart cards.

- Comerica and KeyCorp announced that they have become licensees of

Mondex electronic cash in the United States. Comerica has signed

on as Hitachi's first customer for Mondex electronic cash

transaction processing services.

- Mondex International announced that British universities will

issue MULTOS-based multi-application smart cards to their

respective campus populations.

- Mondex International demonstrated a Mondex e-cash based solution

for Internet transactions, including pay-as-you-go services,

secure shopping and access to on-line products and services.

- Mondex International demonstrated a new breed of smart card that

combines contact and contactless smart card technology to create

a single card solution for payment, transit, and ticketing

environments.

"MasterCard is delivering smart card solutions - leveraging the industry-leading power of the MULTOS operating system - that not only meet the needs of our members, but enable them to deliver customized, value-added services to customers, " said Robert W. Selander, President and CEO, MasterCard International. "Our robust chip strategy will deliver global, multi-application smart card solutions that can be adapted by members regionally or locally according to their needs. The end result will be a chip-based MasterCard card that offers cardholders and merchants unmatched value."

MasterCard has established a smart card infrastructure that is globally interoperable and flexible enough to meet the local needs of individual member financial institutions that wish to invest in a single smart card technology solution. Those efforts include assessing member needs, providing smart card education, developing and identifying superior applications and platforms, and establishing standards for industry-wide product interoperability. As a result, smart card technology has become a valuable and desired tool for all sectors of commerce and government. MasterCard will focus on continued development of the business case for, and supporting the implementation of smart card solutions by, its member financial institutions.

About MasterCard International

MasterCard International has the most comprehensive portfolio of payment brands in the world. With 23,000 member financial institutions, serving consumers in 220 countries and territories, MasterCard is the industry leader in quality and innovation. Nearly 700 million MasterCard(R), Maestro(R), Cirrus(R) and Mondex(TM) cards are in circulation today. With more than 16.2 million locations, no card is accepted in more places and by more merchants than the MasterCard Card. In 1998, gross dollar volume exceeded $650 billion. MasterCard can be reached through its World Wide Web site at http://www.mastercard.com.