Tokyo, Japan, Oct 19, 2004 (JCN Newswire)–JCB, a leading international payment brand, has developed contactless credit for MOPASS cards conforming to ISO/IEC14443 for Type B communications. The MOPASS card (MObile PASSport), created in cooperation with Hitachi Ltd., combines smart card microprocessor functions with the flash memory card format for use in PCs, mobile phones, PDAs and other information devices with a memory card slot. JCB demonstrated the card at the 9th JCB World Conference on October 18 and 19 in Kyoto, Japan.

“The portability of the MOPASS card means that you can use a lot of different devices as your credit card,” said Mr. Yosuke Hamada, Assistant Vice President of JCB’s Strategic Market Development Department. “In fact, the large memory makes it possible to provide other, value-added services in addition to credit, making MOPASS ideal for creating new demand in the market.”

Combining smart card microprocessor functions with the flash memory card format not only provides MOPASS with large memory capacity, but advanced security without a special reader/writer, a particular advantage for the authentication functions required by mobile commerce using smaller devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. A MOPASS card equipped with proprietary credit and other applications developed by JCB can perform all the functions of a conventional-size IC-chip credit card.

The JCB World Conference demonstration highlighted both JCB’s contactless credit function using the MOPASS card in a mobile phone memory card slot, and PC lock, log-in authentication and file encryption functions on a personal computer. This demonstration was the world’s first implementation of MOPASS contactless credit by an international credit card brand, and JCB will be actively moving ahead with further development and trials of MOPASS-based products and services, including in-house trials next spring.

JCB was an early leader in the implementation of contactless payment systems, starting with a system for the Megaweb theme park in Odaiba offering visitors the choice of prepay or postpay by JCB card, while recent innovations include participation in the preview of the i-mode® FeliCa® Service in March 2003, the e-METI JCB Business Card for employee purchases at METI canteens, as well as technological advances such as the DualPlus™ interface providing contact and contactless interface to a single chip.

Contactless postpayment is also an integral part of JCB’s Offica and Mobile Offica multi-function corporate solutions, currently in use by 10 companies within Japan. In November JCB will conduct a trial of the QUICPay™ contactless payment system, which offers simple and speedy offline payments in less than one second using a variety of contactless chip media. The trial will implement the system in mobile phones compatible with NTT DoCoMo’s mobile wallet service.

i-mode is a registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries. FeliCa is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.

About JCB Co. Ltd.

JCB is an international credit card brand and the largest card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding overseas in 1981. Its merchant network includes 11.7 million merchants and spans 190 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories, with 51.6 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 and 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 Co. Ltd. Home page at: http://www.jcb-global.com/english or http://www.jcbinternational.com.