Royal Bank and NBTel to Mondex-Enable PCs

Royal Bank and
NBTel are collaborating on a pilot project, to start in the Fall, that will
allow Royal Bank Mondex clients who subscribe to NBTel’s Vibe service to
purchase goods and services on the Vibe Intranet with their Mondex smart cards.

Mondex smart cards provide an electronic cash alternative to credit card
purchases over the Internet. Royal Bank will provide clients with a Mondex
card, a smart card reader, and floppy disks containing Mondex software.

Mondex customers participating in the pilot project will also be able to
load electronic cash onto their cards or make deposits to their bank
accounts via their PC’s.

“This online project will provide a useful model for developing a system
that will eventually allow Royal Bank smart card customers to purchase goods
and services on the World Wide Web,” said Royal Bank VP Al McGale.

“Customers want the convenience of a variety of payment systems,” said Bill
Steeves, CFO and VP of corporate services at NBTel. “We believe electronic
cash payment is an appealing and practical alternative to using credit cards
for online transactions.”

According to Steeves, the initiative will give Vibe customers and merchants
a unique opportunity to experience a payment mechanism that will have a
major impact on the future of electronic commerce.