"Many instances such as slow payment or wager disputes can be successful
if handled directly with the sports book and handled quickly.

FAC's Kingdom of the Netherlands solution enables merchant acquiring
through FAC's partner banks in Europe and/or the Netherlands Antilles or
both -- creating a dual-acquiring presence in the Latin America Caribbean
Region (LACR) and the European Union (EU). Based on the Card Associations' 3-D Secure
technology, cGateSecureVerify provides merchants with protection from
fraudulent transactions, unauthorized payments and chargeback liability
shift.

Business Editors/Technology Editors

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands----Axalto
(EURONEXT:AXL)(EURONEXT:NL0000400653 ) today announces its joint
participation with Sagem in the European e-visa trial. The "Biodev"
program is an initiative of a group of members of the European Union
that aims to reinforce the control of borders and validity of visas in
the "Schengen" free circulation zone constituted by 15 member states .)
Mr Melchior, Inspector General of the French Interior Ministry,
commented "We intend to look closely at the findings of this pilot
programme before rolling out this system on a wide scale."
Mr Jean-Paul Jainsky of Sagem added "We selected Axalto as a
supplier because it was ideally qualified to meet all the technical
and practical challenges involved in this project.com

netherlands antilles

Of course , this offers an alternative
to Las Vegas, Atlantic City or the local bookie. This lack of information has led to some
consumers unknowingly signing up with a sports book operation that is either
improperly funded, poorly managed or simply a scam operation.
"Many consumers only discover a watchdog Web site after they have
encountered problems with a sports book," commented Roberto Castiglioni of The
Offshore Wire. The disputes can cover a
range of incidences that include the legitimacy of a wager , players being
stalled on the payment of winnings (slow pay) and the recovery of funds due to
the failure of a sports book.
"Because these operations are offshore, players can encounter difficulties
with effective communicating with these operations", Castiglioni added.

FAC's Dutch Kingdom Solution automatically protects eligible merchants with
Verified By VISA and MasterCard SecureCode on qualifying VISA and
MasterCard transactions.
Axalto's technology will be embedded into the system supplied by
Sagem in order to guarantee the authenticity of biometric information,
while protecting the integrity and confidentiality of each
individual's personal details.

consulates embassies

Gambling on the Offshore Wagering Industry -- A Consumer Advisory

These sites offer a variety of
ratings, reviews , articles and forums that allow for other consumers to
feedback information on their experiences . "While all hope is not lost at that point, the consumer would
have likely made a better choice of sports books had they taken the time to
better inform themselves before making a commitment and not relied simply on a
slick advertisement or Web site.
The e-visa pilot will run for 15 months and will involve a total
of five European countries acting as customers or suppliers of this
trial technology. www.

embassies consulates

When selecting a sports book, the consumer often has little more
information to go on than the advertisements seen in sport schedules,
magazines or on the Internet.
In an effort to better inform the offshore wagering consumer, a handful of
industry watchdog Web sites are available.

PRESS RELEASE First Atlantic Commerce Launches Innovative 'Double Dutch' Payment Solutions for Internet Merchants

FAC's banking partners in Europe and the Netherlands Antilles offer full
Internet banking services enabling merchants to easily and securely manage
their accounts . With its international experience, it was natural
for Axalto to be selected for this major project .

embassies abroad

Due to regulatory
restrictions in the U.S. "Merchants who
establish a Dutch Company in the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Sint
Maarten or Aruba) are then eligible to apply for merchant accounts in both
The Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles leveraging one single Dutch
corporate structure, " says Mrs Wilson.

"This very practical solution enables merchants to take advantage of the
Netherlands Antilles offshore and e-zone tax structures, as well as
establishing a solid entry point into the EU for European currency
solutions, 3-D Secure and channeled marketing," concludes Mrs. FAC's cGate technology offers
state-of-the-art service, flexibility and security to adapt to many
business and bank acquirer requirements. Business solutions such as 3-D
Secure Payer Authentication, Virtual Corporations and offshore
multi-currency payment solutions are available in the LACR and Europe.

The first deployments will be conducted by France and Belgium in
certain ports, airports, embassies and consulates."
Frederic Trojani, Public Sector + Transport Market Segment
Director at Axalto said "This trial aims to measure the human,
organisational and technical implications of capturing visa
applicants' biometric data, storing these data on a highly secure
medium, and retrieving this information each time the traveller
crosses a border."

* International Civil Aviation Organisation

About Axalto

Axalto (EURONEXT:AXL)(EURONEXT:NL0000400653)) is the world's
leading provider of microprocessor cards (Gartner 2004) - the key to
digital networks - and a major supplier of point of sale terminals.

Embassies and consulates to and from the Netherlands Antilles .

caribbean government

CURACAO, Netherlands Antilles, The popularity of
wagering on college and professional football continues to attract more people
to the numerous on-line sports books. market, the on-line sports wagering industry operates
outside U. When a sports
book fails we often find ourselves involved with the gaming authorities in the
country with jurisdiction like in the case of a failed sports book in Panama
we resolved after considerable time.

FAC's solution provides merchants with the opportunity to offer their
customers a number of secure payment choices including US Dollars , Euros,
Pounds Sterling, and Swiss Francs with the merchant having the choice of
settlement jurisdictions within the LACR and/or Europe.

Further details on FAC's portfolio of solutions can be found at the
Company's web site www.com

About First Atlantic Commerce

Headquartered in Bermuda , and established in 1998 to create secure
card-based payment solutions for e-businesses, FAC provides powerful
technology designed to work with most merchant platforms, including
Microsoft, UNIX, and LINUX platforms. The
solutions were chosen for their technical excellence and their
development teams, who offer renowned expertise in security and
personal privacy protection.

embassies antilles

S. borders from locations in the Caribbean, Central America, the
United Kingdom and Canada.
First Atlantic Commerce Ltd (FAC), a
leading eCommerce payment solutions provider, today introduces an
innovative solution that offers companies the ability to apply for merchant
accounts in both Europe and the Netherlands Antilles, leveraging a single
Dutch corporate structure. Wilson. (For the record, 15 million visas are issued each
year within the entire Schengen Zone. Axalto was able to
build on the experience gained in paper-based security systems to
develop an electronic visa that meets state-of-the-art security
standards.

abroad regional

"To meet with the Card Associations' cross-border compliance, all merchants
are required to establish a corporate presence in the same jurisdiction as
their settlement bank ," says FAC CEO Andrea Wilson.firstatlanticcommerce.

Axalto Supplies e-Visas for First European Trial

Featuring a contactless microprocessor chip compatible with ICAO*
standards, the e-visa should also reduce border crossing times for
travellers.

government from

"
Assisting players in resolving disputes with problem sports books has
become as important as keeping players informed.
The e-visa is one of the first electronic travel documents
containing biometric data (digital photos and fingerprints ) that can
be authenticated each time the holder crosses a border.
By performing more stringent checks, the e-visa will provide
government authorities in the Schengen Zone with a more secure and
efficient method of controlling the entry of people into their
countries.axalto.

from antilles

"As
an advocate for the player, we are able to use our contacts within the
industry and relationships with the governing jurisdictions to assist the
player."

Its 4,500 employees come from 70 nationalities and serve customers in
more than 100 countries, with worldwide sales reaching 3 billion smart
cards to date. The company has 25 years' experience in smart card
innovation and leads its industry in security technology and open
systems.