Chase Reaches Milestones with "blink," Continues to Roll Out Contactless Payments for Cardmembers, Merchant

Nearly Seven Million Cardmembers Can “blink” Purchases at More Than 25,000 Locations, Including Convenience Stores, Gas Stations, Sports Stadiums
Consumers Save 40 Percent on blink Transaction Time; Merchants Report 35 Percent Increase in Frequency Over Traditional Credit Cards

WILMINGTON, Del. – July 31, 2006 – One year after launching its contactless credit cards – Chase cards with “blink” – Chase Bank U.S.A., N.A., a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. [NYSE: JPM], has issued nearly seven million cards with blink to cardmembers in Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. From “blinking” Slurpees® at 7-Eleven to Shorti™ Hoagies at Wawa, Chase cardmembers may now use their cards with blink at more than 25,000 merchant locations nationwide, ranging from convenience stores to sports stadiums.

Partnering with Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International, Chase was the first issuer to broadly offer contactless credit cards to consumers. Today, Chase cardmembers across the country speed through checkout lines faster and more conveniently at merchant locations including 7-Eleven® stores, AMC Theatres®, Cinemark USA, CVS/pharmacy®, RaceTrac®, Regal Entertainment Group®, Walgreens and Wawa.

Redefining Payments in a blink

Merchants and consumers benefit from blink with the speed, convenience and easy-to-use contactless payment method. Since 2005, blink has transformed everyday payments for some merchants and consumers by:

* Increasing the average ticket sale for some merchants by 40 percent more than cash purchases;
* Increasing the frequency of everyday purchases at many contactless-enabled merchants by 35 percent over credit cards with traditional magnetic stripes;
* Reducing consumers’ waiting time in line by 15 to 20 percent in stores and 40 percent at the drive-thru for quick service restaurants; and
* Reducing consumers’ average transaction time by 10 to 40 percent.

“blink transactions have proven to be a big hit with Wawa customers,” said Bob Riesenbach, New Initiatives Manager for Wawa. “blink has enabled us to make our customers’ and associates’ lives easier by speeding up our checkout time at the register.”

Chase is also changing sports fans’ experiences at stadiums and ballparks. Chase has partnerships with the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres that not only provide fans an opportunity to apply for a co-branded credit card, but also use their Chase card with blink to enjoy the game and not wait in concession lines. Additionally, there are dozens of professional stadiums around the nation that accept Chase cards with blink.

As a possible extension of contactless payments, Chase participated in the first large-scale Near Field Communication (NFC) trial by blink-enabling mobile phones to deliver mobile phone contactless payments to Atlanta Hawks and Thrasher fans at Philips Arena.

“Contactless commerce has experienced tremendous growth,” said Erik Michielsen, director of ABI Research’s RFID and M2M practice. “We expect contactless payments to continue to grow, and companies like Chase contribute to making merchant and consumer adoption a reality.”

How blink Works

To use Chase cards with blink, cardmembers simply hold their card near a point-of-sale reader at checkout, instead of swiping their card or handing it to a store employee. As cardmembers hold their Chase card with blink near the point-of-sale reader, the reader quickly emits a tone and lights up to signal payment confirmation. Consumers use cards with blink everywhere they currently use credit cards – anywhere Visa and MasterCard are accepted – and can also use blink wherever contactless payments are accepted. Chase cards with blink are safe and secure, relying on additional layers of payment security to prevent and mitigate fraud, including electronic authorization, neural network fraud monitoring, fraud alerts and others.

“With Chase cards with blink, our goal is to make it easier and faster for consumers to make everyday purchases and to increase efficiency and customer loyalty for merchants,” said Tom O’Donnell, senior vice president, Chase Card Services. “We jump started the change in how people pay and now look ahead to bringing that quick and safe experience to more consumers at more merchant locations where speed and convenience make a real difference.”

Industry Recognition

Since its debut in 2005, Chase cards with blink have received recognition from leading industry organizations including Frost & Sullivan (2006 Excellence in Technologies Awards), the Internet Advertising Competition (Outstanding Microsite), the Smart Card Alliance (2005 Outstanding Smart Card Achievement Award and Financial Payments Innovation Award) and VRL Publishing/Cards International (Best New Credit Card Product Launch).

About Chase Cards with blink

In May 2005, Chase became the first bank to initiate a large-scale market-by-market rollout of contactless credit cards after working closely with merchants across the country to ensure the broadest possible acceptance. There are currently more than seven million Chase credit cards with blink being used at locations nationwide where speed and convenience are important including movie theaters, quick service restaurants, convenience stores, drug stores and sports stadiums. Further extending benefits for cardmembers, Chase offers blink rewards cards with partners the Los Angeles Dodgers, Regal Entertainment Group®, Sheetz, the Texas Rangers and Wawa. Chase also works with partners Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Universal to extend consumers’ card choices to include blink-enabled rewards cards. For more information about Chase cards with blink, visit www.chaseblink.com.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.3 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The company has more than 100 million credit cards issued. Under the JPMorgan, Chase and Bank One brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Contact Information

Jessica Iben

Credit Card Services

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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