J.P. Morgan Offers Enhanced Check Cashing Services for Payroll Checks Cashed at Wal-Mart Stores

Positive Pay Service Confirms Check Information to Prevent Check Fraud; Employees Benefit from More Check Cashing Locations Nationwide

NEW YORK - J.P. Morgan’s Treasury Services business, a full-service provider of cash management, trade finance and treasury solutions, today announced enhanced check cashing services for its check disbursement clients. Employees of these clients will be able to cash payroll checks at Wal-Mart stores which will utilize the client’s Positive Pay information to confirm the validity of checks presented for payment. This will provide protection against fraud and improve daily account reconcilement.

By offering its Positive Pay clients this protection at all Wal-Mart locations in 46 states, J.P. Morgan has significantly expanded its non-bank branch check cashing footprint while maintaining security for its clients. Additionally, clients can continue to take advantage of Positive Pay check cashing services offered at all Chase branches.

“Using Positive Pay, clients gain important fraud protection on payroll checks issued to employees,” explained Iqbal M. Khan, executive director, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. “Fraudsters continue to see checks as an easy target for theft. It is critical that the financial community remain vigilant when it comes to making fraud mitigation tools available. We take our responsibility to help clients protect their assets very seriously and are pleased to be able to extend the availability of this service.”

Employees of J.P. Morgan clients can cash checks at dedicated check cashing windows at participating Wal-Mart retail locations. Checks are electronically scanned when presented at Wal-Mart, and using J.P. Morgan’s Positive Pay service, the check is verified against the check issue information provided by the client. The client’s account reconcilement data is updated by J.P. Morgan throughout the day with the information gathered as checks are cashed.

J.P. Morgan’s Positive Pay service enables Wal-Mart’s check cashing employees to quickly validate that a payroll check is legitimate. Cashiers are notified electronically if there is a discrepancy, preventing checks from being fraudulently cashed. If a check is not validated, an error message is transmitted electronically to the Wal-Mart employee. The check is returned to the presenter along with a phone number to call for resolution.

“We are pleased to be working with J.P. Morgan to offer Positive Pay protection to their clients, providing a safe and secure way for their employees to cash their payroll checks,” stated Scott Sandlin, Senior Director Money Services, Wal-Mart. “Our service allows employees to take advantage of lower cost check cashing fees and a greater number of locations where they can cash their checks. Wal-Mart will benefit from an increase in foot traffic to our stores.”

Wal-Mart makes check cashing services available at all its retail locations except in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

J.P. Morgan’s Positive Pay service is part of the bank’s overall payment fraud prevention services which include:

* Account Reconciliation - Reduces the time and expense associated with reconciling outstanding or paid checks
* ACH Transaction Review - Review and confirm ACH debit and credit transactions online and return unauthorized transactions on a case-by-case basis
* Maximum Dollar Amount - Allows unpaid checks to automatically be returned if they exceed a given dollar limit, or enables or allows decisions to be made on paying or returning checks
* Payee Verification - Enhances traditional Positive Pay by identifying potential fraudulent checks when the payee name has been changed
* Reverse Positive Pay - Enables customers to identify payment discrepancies and advise the bank of return instructions
* Stale-Dating - Lets clients determine the number of days after a check was issued that it may be honored, opt to return expired checks automatically, and make decisions on paying or returning checks



For more information about J.P. Morgan’s Positive Pay service, visit http://www.jpmorgan.com/preventfraud. In addition, J.P. Morgan will be hosting a fraud-related Webinar on May 19th titled “What Matters Today: Protecting Your Assets.” For details, visit www.jpmorgan.com/whatmatterstoday.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club locations in the United States. The company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. Wal-Mart serves more than 176 million customers weekly in 14 markets. The company’s securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com.

About J.P.Morgan Treasury Services
The Treasury Services business of J.P.Morgan is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 39 countries, J.P.Morgan Treasury Services is one of the world’s largest providers of treasury management services and a division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC. More information can be found at www.jpmorgan.com/ts.

About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P.Morgan and Chase brands. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.