TOKYO, JAPAN, March 6, 2006 --- NTT DoCoMo, Inc., UC Card Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. today announced a comprehensive agreement which includes joint promotion of DoCoMo's iD™ brand card business.
Under the agreement, Mizuho Bank will transfer its stake in UC Card (approximately 18% of UC Card's outstanding shares) to DoCoMo for about 1 billion yen in the middle of March 2006. In addition, UC Card will work to expand acceptance of the iD brand at its network of participating stores nationwide.
In collaboration with DoCoMo, Mizuho Bank will upgrade the function of Mizuho Mileage Club (MMC) Card, an ATM card with credit card functions issued by Credit Saison. MMC members will be provided with the latest method of credit card payment via iD service through their mobile phones.
Going forward, the three companies will consider various ways to enhance the collaboration:
- Mizuho and DoCoMo collaborating at each other's place of business
- Installing iD-compatible readers on Mizuho ATMs
- DoCoMo and Mizuho Bank cooperating with each other's membership programs
- Developing settlement services for mobile phones
- Developing mobile banking services for Mizuho Bank's high-end customers
- DoCoMo and UC Card working together to develop new businesses
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company, serving more than 50 million customers. The company offers a wide variety of
leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including
i-mode™ which provides
e-mail and Internet access to over 45 million subscribers as the world's most popular mobile Internet service, and FOMA™, launched in 2001 as the world's first 3G mobile service based on
W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe,
North America and Asia, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in
Asia-Pacific and Europe.
NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and
New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit
www.docomo.ne.jp/english.
i-mode and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries.
NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service is only available to subscribers in Japan.
iD is a trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan.
