NW_20031104_en_Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s leading Retail Bank, to Use VASCO’s Digipass 260

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois and BRUSSELS, Belgium –November 4– VASCO (Nasdaq SC: VDSI; www.vasco.com), a global provider of enterprise-wide security products that supports e-business and e-commerce, announced today that leading Indonesian Financial Institution, Bank Mandiri (www.bankmandiri.co.id) has selected VASCO’s Digipass 260 to help the bank protect a series of on-line services that the bank expects to launch shortly. This initiative is part of Bank Mandiri’s continuous efforts to offer its customers addition channels and convenience through which banking transactions can be performed round the clock, 7 days a week, and most importantly for the bank, in a no less secure environment as compared to the face to face transactions carried out traditionally at the banks over 691 branches county wide. For the initial roll out, Bank Mandiri ordered a total of 100.000 units of Digipass 260.

Bank Mandiri is Indonesia's largest bank in terms of assets, loans and deposits. Total assets as of June 30, 2003 were Rp 257.8 trillion (USD31.19 Billion) or around 24.4% of the assets in the Indonesian banking system. Through the efforts of its more than 17,818 employees, Bank Mandiri provides comprehensive financial service to more than 6 million corporate and individual customers as well as small and medium sized enterprises in Indonesia.

By putting its trust in Digipass 260, Bank Mandiri is the first bank to deploy this brand new VASCO product. The Digipass 260 is user-friendly, lightweight, reliable, and supports multi applications, including features designed to provide users with a positive experience. The design of the DP 260 is the result of years of experience that VASCO has accumulated in providing more than 10 million tokens to the global banking and finance industry.

“We are honored to have Mandiri Bank as a customer,” said Jan Valcke, VASCO’s President and COO. “By co-operating with a renowned financial institution like Mandiri, VASCO dramatically reinforces its position as the trusted authentication partner to leading Asian banks.”

“This step once again demonstrates Bank Mandiri’s resolve to constantly innovate and provide new value added services to our esteemed customers, using the best technology” stated Mr. Kostaman Thayib, Senior Vice President & Group Head Consumer Liabilities of Bank Mandiri. “The evaluation and selection process was necessarily stringent and exhaustive, taking no less than one year and involving the joint efforts of a number of divisions within the Bank. Key considerations during the evaluation were the level of protection offered, product quality, ease of use, feature set, the vendor’s understanding of our needs and its previous experience in delivering similar solutions. We chose VASCO, which, while not the lowest priced solution, was closest to our security, technical and commercial requirements. Together we are confident that Mandiri Bank’s customers will experience the highest possible security level to perform e-banking transactions, while enjoying the best possible user experience.”

About VASCO:
VASCO designs, develops, markets and supports patented "Identity Authentication" products for e-business and e-commerce. VASCO's Identity Authentication software is delivered via its Digipass security products, small "calculator" hardware devices carried by an end user, or in a software format on mobile phones, other portable devices, and PCs. For user access control, VASCO's VACMAN products guarantee that only designated Digipass users get access to the application. VASCO's target markets are the applications and their several hundred million users that utilize fixed passwords as security. VASCO's time-based system generates a "one-time" password that changes with every use, and is virtually impossible to hack, or break. With 10 million Digipass products sold and ordered, VASCO has established itself as a world-leader for strong Identity Authentication with 250 international financial institutions, approximately 1400 blue-chip corporations, and governments representing more than 60 countries.

About Bank Mandiri (all figures as of 30 June 2003)
Bank Mandiri is Indonesia’s largest bank in terms of assets, loans and deposits. The Bank reported a profit after tax of Rp. 2.24 trillion (US$ 270.9 million) for the first six months of the year 2003, up 26% from the same period in 2002. The Bank currently employs 17,818 people and has 691 branches, as well as four overseas branches/subsidiaries. The bank’s distribution is further enhanced by its 1,574 proprietary ATMs, which are supplemented by 4,000 additional ATMs made available to Bank Mandiri customers via LINK (an ATM network linking all state bank ATMs).


Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
Reference is made to the Company's public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its operations.

For more information contact:
More information is available at www.vasco.com.
Media Contact: Jochem Binst: +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]
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