5/25/2006

PLANET PAYMENT TO OFFER MULTI-CURRENCY PROCESSING TO MERCHANTS IN CHINA THROUGH STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

Planet Payment [LSE:AIM: PPTR and PPT for restricted and unrestricted shares respectively], a leading multi-currency payment processor, and Standard Chartered Bank announced today that they have entered into an agreement to offer dynamic currency conversion (DCC) in China, enabling merchants there to provide international Visa and MasterCard cardholders the option to learn the amount of their transactions in their home currency, in real-time at the point-of-sale.


The DCC service will offer international travellers to China a real time choice to settle their transactions in their own currencies. The service is optional to cardholders and conversion occurs only with the cardholder’s expressed consent. Cardholders who do choose to convert in real time will not have to wait until they return home to discover what their transactions cost in their native currencies.


Standard Chartered plans to make the service available to merchants by the third quarter of 2006. The agreement follows the launch of DCC in Hong Kong by Planet Payment and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited in December 2005, and positions the two companies to benefit from China’s large and growing tourist industry, particularly with the approach of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. According to a report recently published by Visa Asia Pacific, entitled “Recent Trends in Spending by Visitors in Asia-Pacific,” spending in China by international Visa cardholders is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2008.


Planet Payment is the trade name for Planet Group, Inc [LSE:AIM: PPTR and PPT for restricted and unrestricted shares respectively]. Further information on Planet Payment can be found at: www.planetpayment.com


Planet Payment is a multi-currency payment processor, enabling processors, acquiring banks and their merchants to accept, process and reconcile credit card transactions in multiple currencies, and allowing international cardholders to view prices and settle transactions in their native currency when travelling abroad. Planet Payment’s systems also enable it to provide enhanced data reporting and data mining to merchants who are using multiple systems in different countries.


The Planet Payment business was established in 1999 and Planet Group, Inc. is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.


Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companies, by market capitalisation.


Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and is in many of the world’s fastest growing markets. It has an extensive global network of over 1,200 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) in 56 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas. As one of the world’s most international banks, Standard Chartered employs almost 44,000 people, representing 89 nationalities, worldwide.


Standard Chartered’s strengths lie in its breadth, diversity and balance and is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and corporate responsibility. The Bank is committed to all its stakeholders by living its values in its approach to managing its people, exceeding expectations of its customers, making a difference in the communities that we operate in and working with its regulators.


Standard Chartered uniquely derives 95% of profits from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Serving both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers, the Bank combines deep local knowledge with global capability to offer a wide range of innovative products and services as well as award winning solutions.


Some of the major awards won in 2005 by the Bank include:



1. IFR Asia’s Domestic Bond House of the Year


2. Finance Asia’s Best Local Currency Bond House & Best Securitisation House


3. Asia Risk’s Interest Rates Derivatives House of the Year


4. Trade Finance’s Best Trade Finance Bank in Sub Saharan Africa


5. Global Custodian’s Best Agent Bank in Asia


6. The Asset’s Best Cash Management Bank for South Asia


7. Retail Banker International’s Best Retail Bank in Asia Pacific.


Forward-Looking Statements. Information contained in this announcement may include ‘forward-looking statements’. All statements other than statements of historical facts included herein, including, without limitation, those regarding Planet Payment’s financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to Planet Payment’s business) are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions regarding Planet Payment’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which Planet Payment expects to operate in future, which assumptions may or may not be fulfilled in practice. Actual results may vary materially from the results anticipated by these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risk factors, including the risk that implementation, adoption and offering of the service by merchants may take longer than anticipated, or may not occur at all. These forward-looking statements speak only as to the date of this announcement and cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Planet Payment expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any changes in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.