April, 2003

Tokyo Japan, April 14, 2003 - JCB Co. Ltd. has begun the international brand certification process for the new Convex Letter Card technology for cards that are not suitable for embossing, such as smart cards with contactless IC chips or employee identification cards with photographs. This technology will be used on JCB's own new combined employee ID and credit card when the company relocates to a new building in May of this year.

The new card technology makes use of the Convex Letter System developed by Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. and Maxell Seiki Ltd., which forms raised letters meeting JIS standards. Toppan, Maxell Seiki and JCB have worked closely together to improve product quality and have achieved a level high enough to begin the certification process for global use by the JCB international brand. The system produces convex letters in clear plastic on the face of the card plastic without causing depressions on the reverse of the card. This avoids the problems of illegible printing or malformed photographs. In addition, the internal antenna and IC chip used in contactless smart cards are not damaged.

This new technology will be used on JCB's own new combined employee ID and credit card in May 2003. This will be a field test for evaluation and provide the necessary verification for certification. When brand certification is complete, JCB will be combining the technology with its existing solutions for the public transport, retailing and corporate markets, and at the same time deploying it into the international market through JCB brand card issuers.

JCB's DualPlus, contact/contactless interface single chip smart card, and contactless IC card issuing contracting program are already bringing new solutions to meet the needs of the market, and when international brand certification is complete for the new Convex Letter Card even more effective solutions will be made possible.

About JCB
JCB is an international credit card brand and the largest card issuer/acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding overseas in 1981. Its merchant network includes 10.43 million merchants and spans 189 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issuedĦĦin 18 countries and territories, with 42 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, 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 International homepage at http://www.jcbinternational.com.