Arcot's TransFort(TM) Solution Selected by JCB to Power JCB's 3-D Secure Service to Combat e-Payments Fraud

Market Wire, 20050229

Arcot Systems, Inc., a leading solutions provider for securing electronic identity, today announced that Arcot TransFort has been selected by JCB, an international credit card brand, to facilitate the global deployment of its e-payments fraud initiative termed "J/Secure." JCB is also the largest issuer in Japan and it will implement the Arcot TransFort™ Issuer solution to offer an e-payments J/Secure authentication service directly to JCB's cardholders including its Franchisees.

This service offering will help enable JCB to address JCB cardholder concerns about the safety of online shopping, while allowing Internet merchants to benefit from improved security. Under this arrangement, Arcot will also enable its TransFort Merchant Software to support J/Secure and Arcot will make this J/Secure upgrade available to all Arcot merchant customers worldwide for no additional license fees.

Arcot is delivering this solution along with HP, which provided consulting and integration services. HP has been a global re-seller of the Arcot TransFort solution since 2001.

"We are pleased to be selected by JCB for their global deployment of a cardholder authentication service under the 3-D Secure program," said Ram Varadarajan, president and CEO of Arcot. "JCB's choice of Arcot, the e-payments authentication leader, is a great vote of confidence and will enrich the program tremendously."

Arcot's TransFort solution is the solution in the marketplace with end-to-end software support for JCB's implementation of 3-D Secure. It joins existing end-to-end offerings Arcot has in the market today under the Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode programs. Arcot has delivered on its commitment to JCB for high-quality issuer and merchant-side software. In addition, JCB will utilize a J/Secure Directory Server licensed from Arcot to support JCB's global implementation of 3-D Secure with issuers, cardholders and merchants.

"JCB's program provides a high level of security for our cardholders," said Masahiro Omoto, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Technologies of JCB Co. "Arcot's global market expertise, market leadership, product strength, knowledge of security, as well as their strong ability to deliver, will help JCB offer the greatest degree of convenient security in the marketplace, providing customer-driven, flexible solutions on a global basis."

About Arcot TransFort

Arcot TransFort is a comprehensive, multi-brand payment authentication solution for card issuing banks and processors, payment organizations, online retailers, and merchant aggregators. For Issuers, TransFort is an extensible transaction authentication platform that verifies the identity of the buyer in real-time to greatly reduce the incidence of fraudulent and disputed online payments. For Payment Organizations, the TransFort directory server software connects the right issuers to the right merchants for an individual cardholder during a given transaction. For Merchants, TransFort reduces the cost of fraud and disputes associated with online payments made with a MasterCard or Visa.

Arcot TransFort provides key pieces of the payment authentication process, such as method of authentication, auto enrollment, end user devices, and the authentication process itself for the 3-D Secure-based Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode programs. It is designed to be user-friendly and to optimize both security while shopping online and the cardholder experience during that process.

About Arcot

Arcot Systems Inc. is the leading provider of secure e-payment and identity solutions for financial services, pharmaceutical and security-conscious enterprise environments. Only Arcot provides a range of convenient, cost-effective, scalable software-based security solutions that limit fraud and protect users' privacy in these key applications. Arcot solutions meet the business need for strong transactional security while providing the customer a user-friendly experience with anytime, anywhere convenience. Over 14,000 customers use Arcot solutions to protect their customers' privacy and dramatically reduce fraud. For more information, please visit www.arcot.com.

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 10.93 million merchants and spans 189 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 18 countries and territories, with 48.4 million card members. 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 card member 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.