EPY E-Pay Asia

RNS Number:2973V
e-pay Asia Limited
23 April 2007


ASX/AIM: EPY


            e-pay Asia expands business with Malaysian bank alliance


Sydney, 23 April 2007


e-pay Asia Limited is pleased to announce that its 60% owned subsidiary, e-pay
(M) Sdn Bhd ("e-pay Malaysia"), has formed a strategic alliance with AmBank (M)
Berhad ("AmBank") to recruit new retailers throughout Malaysia for AmBank's
credit card transaction services.

Under the partnership, e-pay Malaysia will expand its network of terminals to
support both pre-paid and AmBank credit card transactions.

This alliance is highly synergistic with e-pay Malaysia's current offering and
will thus enable e-pay Malaysia to benefit from two revenue streams. Firstly, it
will share in the handling charge levied by AmBank on each credit card
transaction whilst also receiving monthly income from terminal rental. Secondly,
where AmBank retailers wish to offer sales of prepaid products alongside the
credit offering, e-pay Malaysia will receive income from the commission on these
transactions.

In addition, this new venture diversifies e-pay Malaysia's offering and further
enhances its competitiveness by providing its existing retailers the option to
conduct sales of prepaid products either by cash or by credit card.

e-pay Malaysia aims to roll out a total of 3,000 terminals over the next 24
months, of which 1,200 will be from its existing retailer network. Capex will
thus be limited. The venture is expected to be cashflow positive from launch as
terminals will be rolled out in controlled phases.

Once deployment is complete, it is anticipated that this joint venture has the
potential to generate significant net fee income to e-pay Malaysia.

Use of credit cards in Malaysia is growing rapidly. The total value of credit
card transactions in Malaysia in 2006 exceeded A$15.7 billion, compared to only
A$6.8 billion in 2001. Penetration rates are still low, however, at around 33%
with 8.83 million cards issued in 2006 compared to Malaysia's total population
of 26.64 million. Credit card usage is expected to achieve further rapid growth
going forward, driven by the key 15-64 year old demographic which, at end 2006,
represented 63% of Malaysia's population. (source: Central Bank of Malaysia and
Department of Statistics of Malaysia)


Executive Director of e-pay Asia Limited, Dato' Hassan, commented:

"We are delighted to be able to offer another Master Merchant Program from a
prominent banking institution, besides our first Master Merchant tie up with
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd. The payments market landscape is changing rapidly,
driven by consumer lifestyle and a shift towards credit sales. This presents a
tremendous growth opportunity as credit sales become a major payment model. In
addition, we will also be able to provide newly acquired AmBank retailers the
opportunity to promote our electronic prepaid products."


For more information:

Australia
Jack Tan               e-pay Asia Limited        +614 1828 6266 / +612 9283 8835
Company Secretary                                jtan@epay-asia.com
                                                

Asia / Americas
Tan Yap Seng           e-pay Asia Limited        +6017 229 1616 / +603 5632 2488
Corporate Affairs                                investor@epay-asia.com
                                                                                             

UK / Europe
David Newton, NOMAD    Seymour Pierce            +44 20 7107 8336
                                                 davidnewton@seymourpierce.com
                                                 
Shane Dolan            Biddicks                  +44 20 7448 1000
                                                 shane.dolan@biddicks.co.uk


About AmBank Group

AmBank is the commercial and retail banking arm of the financial services group,
AMMB Holdings Berhad ("AMMB"). AmBank is also Malaysia's third largest credit
card financier with a network of 170 branches. The Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited recently obtained approval to acquire a 24.95% equity
stake in AMMB, paving the way for a strategic partnership between the two
companies.


About EPY

e-pay Asia Limited (ASX/AIM: EPY), dual listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
and the AIM segment of the London Stock Exchange, is a leading provider of
prepaid mobile airtime and electronic payment solutions in South East Asia.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with its corporate office in Sydney, e-pay Asia
operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand. For more information on
the Company, please visit our corporate website: www.epay-asia.com.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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