MasterCard International Working to Help Shut Down the Flow of Payments Supporting the Child Pornography Industry

Business Wire, March 15, 2006

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- MasterCard Joins Forces with Other Leading Financial Institutions and Internet Companies to Found the Financial Coalition against Child Pornography

MasterCard International today said it is joining with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) and with other leading members of the financial and Internet industries from around the world to form the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography (FCACP).

Coordinated by the NCMEC and ICMEC, the FCACP, in conjunction with government leaders and law enforcement agencies worldwide, will embark on a first of its kind, globally focused effort to identify and eliminate commercial sources of child pornography. The Coalition has defined an initial four point strategy to combat child pornography that stresses the sharing of information about illegal activities among Coalition companies and the creation of a centralized system that proactively seeks, reports and tracks the dissemination of child pornography. In addition, the Coalition will seek to mobilize world leaders to become a part of this global effort to eradicate child pornography.

"MasterCard International has always worked aggressively to identify and eliminate any illegal activity involving the use of its global payment network, including child pornography," said John Brady, Vice President of Merchant Fraud Control at MasterCard. "The systems and processes we have developed to combat the use of payment cards for any illegal activity, including our ongoing involvement with global law enforcement communities, provide us with some excellent tools and resources to help eliminate what has sadly become a complex and growing industry based on the exploitation of children around the world."

The Coalition will work in collaboration with Child Focus of Belgium, the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, the Association of Internet Hotline Providers (INHOPE), the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

"We are confident that through collaboration with this broad range of partners, we will be able to mount an aggressive effort against child pornography," said Joshua Peirez, Senior Vice President for Global Public Policy for MasterCard International. "The very nature of the problem requires that we bring to bear the unique skills and knowledge of each of the Coalition's members and partners to deliver a unified blow to the child pornography industry. Only through this partnership will we be able to stop the flow of funds that support this activity and hopefully move quickly toward eliminating it altogether."

In addition to MasterCard, founding members of the Coalition include America Online, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, Microsoft, North American Bancard, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, Standard Chartered Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Yahoo! Inc. and other payment systems.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 365,600 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 117,100 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 99,500 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit www.missingkids.com.

About the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

ICMEC, the sister organization of NCMEC, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) nongovernmental organization. It is the leading agency working on a global basis to combat child abduction and exploitation. For more information visit www.icmec.org

About MasterCard International

MasterCard Incorporated 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, through its principal operating subsidiary, MasterCard International Incorporated, manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R) and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless(R) advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com