July, 2002

Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2002- JCB International Co., Ltd., the international arm of a major Japanese credit card company JCB Co., Ltd. announced today that it has entered into a new strategic partnership agreement with euroConex, the Irish-headquartered card payment processing solutions provider, established by Bank of Ireland and the US-based NOVA EuroConex Holdings Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.

According to euroConex, the addition and integration of the JCB card to the euroConex suite demonstrates significant progression in euroConex's UK and European expansion plans. JCB has a significant presence in the hotel and travel sectors in which euroConex offers extensive coverage. All merchants who currently have their acquiring business with euroConex will be given the opportunity to accept JCB cards in early autumn 2002 and new merchants will be automatically offered JCB card acquiring as part of the standard euroConex suite of cards offering.

Isao Nakanishi, president and Chie Executive Officer of JCB, commented, "We are very pleased to form a strategic alliance with euroConex to expand our merchant businesses in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. This arrangement is consistent with our international strategy to partner with leading financial institutions in local markets around the world to expand our merchant coverage and increase value to cardmembers, who will now be able to use their JCB cards extensively in these countries."

Commentating on the announcement, Mr Billy Saunderson, Chief Executive Officer, euroConex, said, "We are delighted to partner with JCB and the addition of their brand to our portfolio of acquiring cards is a significant development for euroConex. This is the latest in a series f announcements that the company has made over the last 12 months including the successful implementation of a multi-million euro capital investment programme, the development of our technology platform, Compass as well as a number of partnering agreements."

ENDS

JCB Co., Ltd.

Since being established in 1961, JCB has maintained the leading position in the Japanese card industry by providing superior service - an ability honed in response to the rigorous service requirements of Japanese consumers. In 1981, JCB began an international development programme with the firm commitment of offering the same quality service and the same convenience to JCB card members overseas. A JCB card issuance programme was launched in Hong Kong in 1985, and from the early 1990s, the international issuance and merchant acquisition programme has attracted more and more of the world's most reputable financial institutions to become JCB partners.

JCB continues to pursue even greater global expansion from a solid foundation as a major international card brand, and at the moment 42 million of the world's most desirable card members hold JCB cards - which are accepted at 9.78 million associated merchants and supported by close ties with more than 3,000 financial institutions worldwide.

For further information, please visit our website at http://www.jcbinternational.com

euroConex

Established in June 2000, euroConex is a joint venture between Bank of Ireland and NOVA EuroConex Holdings Inc. The company provides an integrated payments processing service to acquiring banks, financial institutions and merchants in Ireland, the UK and across Europe using a multi-currency platform. The company currently employs 177 people in Arklow and Dublin and has a large number of blue chip clients in a wide range of sectors including hotel, retail, international contact centre, petrol and travel.

euroConex offers a comprehensive range of multi-currency enabled card payment processing solutions to meet the evolving requirements of retail and business customers. It supports stand-alone Point-of-Sale terminals and provides tailored solutions for integrated till systems and enabling PC-based payments through call centres and Internet channels.

euroConex also provides full end-to-end multi-currency capability delivered through Multi-Currency Processing (MCP) or Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). euroConex processes and settles in a range of leading currencies including the Euro, US Dollar and Sterling to support businesses operating internationally.

The company provides the leading European dynamic currency conversion product, FX-ePay, which enables hotels, international call centres, department stores, gift shops, restaurants and other multi-currency related businesses to offer their customers the facility of paying for goods and services in their home currency. Exchange rates are managed dynamically to guarantee the customers of euroConex's clients a competitive rate with the added convenience of conducting the transaction in the customers' home currency. It also provides retailers with a new income stream from the foreign exchange conversion.

Further information on euroConex can be found by visiting the company's website at http://www.euroconex.com