Seven Million PayPass Cards and Devices Issued To Consumers and 30,000 Merchant Locations Accepting PayPass Globally

Purchase, NY, May 01, 2006–The MasterCard® PayPass™ contactless payment solution continues to provide consumers with a faster and more convenient way to pay for their small ticket purchases. To date, approximately seven million PayPass cards and devices have been issued to consumers and PayPass is now accepted at approximately 30,000 merchant locations around the world.

There are a number of PayPass-related programs currently underway in ten countries around the world. PayPass rollouts and trials have been announced in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan, and the Philippines, with many more programs and rollouts anticipated throughout 2006. In recognition of its success in leading the contactless payment market with its innovative PayPass program, MasterCard was recently awarded Frost & Sullivan’s “2006 Market Penetration Leadership Award.”

PayPass offers consumers a convenient alternative to cash that allows for small ticket purchases to be completed quickly, securely and easily. Consumers no longer need to fumble for cash and coins, swipe a card, or sign a receipt for any PayPass purchase under $25 (purchases over $25 will require a signature and a receipt). Users simply tap their PayPass-enabled card or device on the PayPass reader at participating merchants and they are on their way.

“These past few years have been an exciting time for the payments industry. Contactless payments have expanded from a series of regional trials to a broader, more nationwide, and increasingly global, adoption of this new way to pay for everyday purchases,” said Art Kranzley, executive vice president, Advanced Payments, MasterCard International. “The real power behind contactless payments is that it benefits everyone in the value chain–consumers, financial institutions and merchants alike.”

PayPass allows financial institutions to offer customers more payment options and it helps increase GDV for issuers by attracting payments away from cash, increasing accountholder loyalty for their card programs and opening up new acceptance opportunities for “quick pay” environments. In the U.S., Chase, Citi, Citizens Financial Group, Inc., GE Consumer Finance, HSBC, KeyBank, MBNA and Peoples Bank of Paris, Texas have all begun offering MasterCard PayPass-enhanced payment programs to their accountholders. PayPass technology enhances any payment account it is added to–be it a credit, debit, pre-paid/stored-value, co-brand, small business or private label account.

PayPass technology can be found in a number of different forms. PayPass cards include magnetic stripe technology, so the cards can also be used in the traditional manner anywhere MasterCard is accepted around the world. In regions where EMV smart cards are predominate, such as Europe and the Asia/Pacific, OneSmart PayPass™ combines both contact and contactless interfaces on one chip. PayPass technology can also be used in a number of devices, such as a convenient payment tag that fits on a key chain for easy access, and in mobile phones.

MasterCard PayPass also allows merchants to function more efficiently and serve their customers better. PayPass speeds consumers through the check-out process, reduces cash handling, improves efficiency and provides competitive differentiation. McDonald’s was the first merchant to announce its acceptance of PayPass in August 2004, and additional U.S. merchants quickly followed–including 7-Eleven, CVS, Duane Reade, Subway, Regal Entertainment Group, Wawa, Sheetz, Central Parking, Meijer Stores, Ritz Camera Centers and Boater’s World Marine Centers.

Interest in PayPass has not been limited to retail establishments. PayPass technology has proved popular in sports facilities as well, and PayPass is now accepted in many Major League Baseball and National Football League stadiums, as well as at numerous golf events. MasterCard and its partners will also be conducting contactless payment trials for transit programs, such as with Citi and the MTA in select NYC subways, while trials continue with the vending industry as well.

Global Interoperability Is Key

The importance of a common user experience at the point of sale also led MasterCard, Visa and JCB Co. Ltd. to reach an agreement to utilize the MasterCard PayPass ISO/IEC 14443 Implementation Specification as a common communications protocol for radio frequency-based contactless payments. The agreements ensure that cards and terminals supporting all three payment organizations’ contactless payment applications conform to the same communications protocol and undergo equivalent testing, thus ensuring interoperability across brands as well.

“We understand that global interoperability is vital to the success of any payment program. MasterCard PayPass was designed using globally interoperable standards, to ensure that it will work consistently around the world wherever it is accepted,” said Cathleen Conforti, senior vice president and global PayPass product manager, MasterCard International.

Strong Marketing Support

MasterCard launched a multi-layered national and regional consumer awareness campaign to promote PayPass–including television, newspaper, magazines, Internet banner advertisements, giant billboards in Times Square in New York City, posters on subways, buses, and commuter trains. In fact, the MasterCard PayPass “Marathoner – Convenience Store” 15-second spot was named to Adweek’s “Best Spots of the Month” list for January 2006. MasterCard will continue to build broad awareness of PayPass nationally throughout 2006.

For more information about MasterCard PayPass, visit http://www.mastercard.com/paypass.

About MasterCard International

MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members’ credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 106 countries and in 50 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to http://www.mastercardinternational.com.