ABeam Consulting and Valista International Forge New Partnership For Online Payments

Relationship combines expertise in business operations and finance with digital commerce to support cross-sector payments business and system design development in Japan

DUBLIN, IRELAND AND TOKYO, JAPAN – March 12th 2008 - ABeam Consulting Ltd. and Valista International Ltd. have announced that they have agreed to form a business partnership focusing on the growing opportunities in online payments in the Japanese market. The partnership will develop a framework capable of providing comprehensive support for business enterprises, from start-up and strategy planning to system builds, in a market that promises to grow with the advent of the Next Generation Network (NGN) era.

The micro-payments segment in the online payments market has grown as increasingly diverse payment methods are made available over the Internet such as e-money, mobile IC card, mobile credit service and facilities linked to various loyalty cards. The roll-out of IP broadband networks and the associated 4G mobile communication and NGN capabilities has accelerated digital content distribution. With it comes the anticipation of greater demands for advanced services that can support multiple payment methods, complex service structures and business relationships. Such payments services may be enabled by the lateral re-alignment of Internet business operator functions and combined service offerings that make use of SaaS (Software as a Service) applications.

According to John Meldrum, Vice President of International Sales at Valista, “Valista’s mission is to advance the next technology era by designing, constructing and delivering open and scalable software that helps accelerate the rapidly growing business of digital content. This is a very exciting value-added agreement with ABeam which will see Valista’s award winning technology in use in Japan with operators as they create new business opportunities in the area of online payments.”

According to Koetsu Sanga, General Manager of Communications Business Unit at ABeam Consulting, “This alliance brings together ABeam’s expertise in corporate finance, enterprise business accounting and back office system support (BSS) with Valista’s experience as the leading provider of digital commerce solutions in Europe and the USA, which will enable the rapid development of the payments market in Japan.”

The partnership will not only support online payments and system deployment for the typical internet portal business operator or MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), but also the business enabler and the billing operator involved in account settlement who provides cross-sector services for the former. Deploying new payments business schemes and solutions can enhance user experience and convenience, by the introduction of e-money, loyalty schemes, charge aggregation, P2P transactions and other new facilities, while also enabling automated transaction settlement between the service provider and internet merchants, thus enabling efficiency of cash flow in the Value Chain.

The partnership takes the form of joint proposals, marketing activities and consulting services in the payments business sector. Leveraging the proven consulting expertise of ABeam Consulting in the financial and IT industries and Valista's know-how as the leading provider of digital commerce solutions, gained through deployment projects with operators in Europe, Japan and America, the two companies will provide progressive support for business development of client enterprises and related groups in Japan and Asia.

About ABeam Consulting Ltd.

ABeam Consulting provides business transformation services that create strategic advantage, improve business processes, leverage technology innovation, and enhance organizational performance for leading multinational and domestic companies worldwide. ABeam partners with clients to diagnose and solve their real challenges with solutions that combine industry and operational best practices with technical expertise. Pragmatic approaches ensure that clients gain measurable value more quickly. Headquartered in Tokyo, ABeam’s 3,500 professionals serve 700 clients in 21 countries. For more information, please visit www.abeam.com.

About Valista®

Valista provides a complete digital commerce experience through a suite of platforms and managed services, enabling multi-channel payments, settlement and service lifecycle management. The Company provides a unique range of market solutions accelerating the adoption of digital commerce by allowing service providers to support and offer complex and evolving business models, streamlining processes and offering consumers exciting new ways of interacting with digital content. Valista enables mobile, broadband and cable operators, media and entertainment companies to manage the entire digital commerce ecosystem including the on-boarding, provisioning, merchandizing, payments, settlement and customer care services. We offer a wide range of implementation options, deploying best of breed application software, assisting with analysis, design and integration or delivering a complete managed service.

Valista’s digital commerce management solutions and services have been proven across the globe in real world implementations by leading innovators such as Cricket, Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo, France Telecom's w-HA, Orange, mBlox and GTECH. Website: www.valista.com/japanese

For more information about the partnership, please contact:
ABeam Consulting Ltd.
Marketing, PR: Akimoto
Address: 〒100-0006, Yurakucho Building, 1-10-10 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: +81-3-3501-8355 Fax: +81-3-5548-7237

Valista®
Valista Ireland
Glencormack Business Park, Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Evanna Kearins, Director, Marketing
Email: ekearins@valista.com
Tel: +353 1 2764511 / +353 87 2896579

Valista Japan
〒105-0001, Bureau Toranomon, 2-7-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Email: japan@valista.com

Telephone: +81-3-5251-7061　Fax: +81-3-5251-7062