TOP FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS to LAUNCH MONDEX in VENEZUELA Submitted By: Pleon Thursday, 15 July 1999

TOP FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO LAUNCH MONDEX IN VENEZUELA Submitted by: Pleon Thursday, 15 July 1999

..Mondex becoming de facto standard for electronic cash in Latin America Region as 10th country franchise sold.. Banco Mercantil C.A.S.A. (Banco Universal), Banco Union C.A., Consorcio Credicard C.A., Banesco Banco Universal S.A.C.A., and InterBank C.A., announced the purchase of the franchise rights for Mondex electronic cash in Venezuela. The agreement gives these five financial institutions the exclusive rights to commercially develop the Mondex electronic cash application on the industry-standard, multi-application operating system, MULTOS, in Venezuela. This sale represents the 10th Mondex franchise sold in Latin America, adding another 22 million potential cardholders to the already 70 million in the region who are eligible to receive the cards. MULTOS is a high-security, industry-controlled, multi-application operating system for smart cards. The MULTOS platform includes unique end-to-end card management to simplify the process and reinforce the business case for smart card issuers. It is available on a non-proprietary open systems basis to ensure that it becomes a standard for smart cards. Mondex's unique security architecture allows for person-to-person payments using a personal wallet device, telephone line or Internet service. The cash-like nature of Mondex means that there are no processing costs, making it significantly less expensive than other systems. Mondex is globally interoperable and is under development in 60 countries including nine territories in Latin America (see note to editors). Mondex Venezuela is expecting to introduce Mondex electronic cash later this year as part of a national launch. The franchisees plan to launch Mondex as one of several applications that will reside on the next generation of smart cards issued in Venezuela, using the industry standard MULTOS operating system. Looking towards the rapid expansion of smart card usage, as

Page 1 well as improving consumer and merchant convenience, the consortium plans to work closely with a number of key industry partners including telecommunications companies, public transit operators and the government. "We are extremely pleased with this announcement as it further strengthens our position in Latin America," said Tim Stewart, Executive Vice President of Mondex International's Atlantic Technology Centre. "The momentum provided by these five institutions, which account for almost 50 per cent of the retail banking market in Venezuela, will enable rapid deployment of multi-application smart cards throughout the country." Randall Shuken, Vice President of Chip Business, MasterCard Latin America and the Caribbean Region, noted that "Mondex e-cash is the strategic foundation which, leveraging the MULTOS platform, allows for financial institutions to combine it with other applications, including credit and debit, in a highly secure and flexible environment. Ultimately, this offering will result in more tailored products and services that better meet the needs of consumers." "Plans by the five financial institutions are now underway to aggressively expand the smart card sector throughout the nation," said Arelys Perez Mendoza, General Manager of Mondex Venezuela. "Through the Mondex and MULTOS technologies, the smart card market will spread rapidly as businesses will be able to offer endless possibilities to consumers such as customer and merchant loyalty programmes, electronic cash transactions, electronic commerce and Internet banking." Regional Update Mondex Venezuela is the 10th country to join a growing group of successful electronic cash programmes throughout Latin America. Mondex Costa Rica has grown quickly, since its launch on June 4th, 1998, developing innovative solutions for merchants and consumers to take advantage of the security and flexibility of Mondex. In September of 1998, Mondex became the only form of payment at the prestigious Central

Page 2 American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) in Costa Rica. In addition, students of the Universidad Latina have helped Mondex make its mark on Costa Rica, utilising a combination card with Mondex, MasterCard Debit and student ID to buy everything from photocopies to electronic tickets for concerts. Today, over thousands of cardholders in Costa Rica take advantage of Mondex's flexibility to buy movie tickets 24 hours a day, in vending applications and a number of popular merchants including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, and McDonald's. Mondex Uruguay and Mondex Chile, having purchased the rights for the Mondex franchise in 1998 for their respective territories, are currently in the midst of implementing Mondex electronic cash and finalising the optimum mix of applications for their markets to reside alongside Mondex on the MULTOS platform. -ends- Notes to Editors For further information, please contact: Greg Smith Mondex Atlantic Office +973 660 4108 [email protected] Arelys Perez Mondex Venezuela +582 952 2866 [email protected] Veronika Clough Mondex International

Page 3 +44 171 557 5036 [email protected] The following countries in Latin America have established Mondex franchises: El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Venezuela Guatemala Honduras Panama Belize Uruguay Chile About Mondex International Mondex International Limited (MXI) is a world leader in the provision of smart-card based products and services. The company is a subsidiary of MasterCard International Incorporated and employs over 180 people at its London headquarters and technology centres around the world. Further information regarding Mondex is available on its web sites at: www.mondex.com / www.mondexinternational.com About MULTOS MULTOS is a high security, multi-application operating system for smart cards. The MULTOS platform includes unique end-to-end card management to simplify the process and reinforce the business case for smart card issuance. It is available on a non-proprietary 'open systems' basis to

Page 4 ensure that it becomes a standard for smart cards in all sectors including finance, retail, travel, media and telecommunications. For further information see the MULTOS web site at www.multos.com. 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, Maestro, Cirrus and Mondex 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.

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