STANDARD BANK LAUNCHES FIRST 'WEB MEETS WORLD' BRAND

PRESS RELEASE

STANDARD BANK TODAY (TUESDAY 22 AUGUST 2000) ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF

BLUEBEAN.COM, A NEW BRAND IN FINANCIAL SERVICES AND ONLINE SHOPPING.

BLUEBEAN.COM WILL PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE IN TRANSACTING
ELECTRONICALLY - AN EXPERIENCE WHERE 'WEB MEETS THE WORLD'.

BLUEBEAN.COM IS LAUNCHING WITH A TRANSACTION CARD, OVER 25 OF SOUTH AFRICA'S
TOP RETAILERS AND AN INNOVATIVE REWARD SCHEME.  THE CARD IS A UNIQUE

COMBINATION OF A NORMAL CREDIT CARD (BACKED BY MASTERCARD), AN ATM CARD AND A
SECURE INTERNET SHOPPING CARD.

ON ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF BLUEBEAN.COM, STANBIC CE JACKO MAREE SAID, "OVER
THE LAST YEAR, A TEAM OF MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT AREAS OF STANDARD
BANK, HAS WORKED WITH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS MARCHFIRST -WHO
DEVELOPED THE UK'S EGG OFFERING-, TO RESEARCH AND ASSESS THE WAY FORWARD FOR
DEVELOPING A BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER E-COMMERCE OFFERING IN SOUTH AFRICA.  WE
BELIEVE WE HAVE CREATED THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS BY LAUNCHING WITH A SECURE
WEB-BASED TRANSACTION CARD THAT CAN ALSO BE USED IN THE REAL WORLD.

"BEING A PART OF STANDARD BANK MEANS IT WILL BENEFIT FROM THE PROCESSES,
SYSTEMS AND EXPERTISE OF AN ESTABLISHED BANK, BUT AS A SEPARATE, YOUNG AND
INNOVATIVE BRAND, IT OPENS UP NEW CHANNELS AND OPTIONS FOR THE CUSTOMER."
THE CARD, WHICH INCORPORATES STANDARD BANK'S PROPRIETARY SECURE ELECTRONIC
PAYMENT ("SEP") TECHNOLOGY TO ENSURE TOTALLY SECURE INTERNET SHOPPING, ALSO
OPERATES AS AN ORDINARY CREDIT CARD.  IT CAN BE USED TO EFFECT PAYMENTS IN THE
INTERNET WORLD, AND THE REAL WORLD AND TO TRANSACT AT AUTOMATIC TELLER MACHINES
(ATM'S).  A GARAGE CARD CAN BE LINKED AS WELL. PRICING FOR THE CARD IS VERY
COMPETITIVE.

GROUP TECHNOLOGY AND E-COMMERCE DIRECTOR PETER WHARTON-HOOD SAYS THAT

BLUEBEAN.COM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO ALLOW STANDARD BANK TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS
OF THE EMERGING INTERNET-SAVVY SECTOR OF THE MARKET. BLUEBEAN.COM ALSO OFFERS
OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD VALUE TO THE EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE WHILE SECURING NEW
INCOME STREAMS FROM NON-TRADITIONAL BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

"BLUEBEAN.COM IS ESSENTIALLY A DYNAMIC ONLINE SHOPPING ENVIRONMENT WHICH
PROVIDES INITIAL ACCESS TO MORE THAN 25 HAND-PICKED RETAILERS AND MERCHANTS
OFFERING A WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES," SAYS WHARTON-HOOD. "THERE ARE
BOOKSTORES, JEWELLERS, SPORTS SHOPS, WINE MERCHANTS, FLORISTS, GROCERS AND MANY
MORE. WHILST WE AIM ULTIMATELY TO HAVE APPROXIMATELY 100 MERCHANTS ON THE SITE,
ONLINE SHOPPERS WILL BE ABLE TO FIND WHATEVER THEY HAVE IN MIND TO BUY THROUGH
BLUEBEAN.COM. CONSUMERS WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO BUY AND SELL PROPERTY; BOOK
TICKETS; MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS; BID IN ONLINE AUCTIONS AND ACCESS A HOST OF
FINANCIAL SERVICES INCLUDING INTERNET BANKING"

AN INNOVATIVE REWARD SCHEME ENCOURAGES USERS TO SHOP USING THEIR BLUEBEAN.COM
TRANSACTION CARD BOTH OFFLINE AND ONLINE.  "CUSTOMERS GET 1% FOR USING THE
BLUEBEAN.COM CREDIT CARD FOR ALL PURCHASES.  2% IS GIVEN WHEN SEP IS USED VIA
THE ONLINE MALL", SAYS WHARTON-HOOD.  THE POINTS, OR BEANS AS THEY ARE KNOWN
AS, CAN BE REDEEMED IMMEDIATELY - BUT ONLY IN THE ON-LINE BLUEBEAN.COM SHOPPING
MALL.  FURTHERMORE WE EXPECT ALL THE BEANS TO BE USED BY OUR CUSTOMERS AS THERE
ARE NO REWARD HURDLES AND NO REDEMPTION DIFFICULTIES.

THE INTEGRATED ONLINE/OFFLINE CONFIGURATION OF BLUEBEAN.COM IS IN KEEPING WITH
INTERNATIONAL TRENDS WHICH SHOW THAT 'CLICKS AND MORTAR' OFFERINGS PROVIDE AN
IDEAL OPTION WHEN THERE IS AN EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE, EXISTING CUSTOMER LOYALTY
AND THE NECESSARY SUPPORT PROCESSES ALREADY IN PLACE. ACCORDINGLY, BLUEBEAN.COM
LEVERAGES THE EXISTING SKILLS AND INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN STANDARD BANK FOR ITS
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM, SOPHISTICATED CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTRE, CARD SYSTEM, RETAIL
PARTNERSHIPS AND RISK MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS.

STANDARD BANK'S BUDGETED CASH INVESTMENT FOR BLUEBEAN.COM IN ITS FIRST YEAR
WILL BE A TOTAL OF R83 MILLION. THE TARGET IS TO SECURE 300 000 CONSUMERS
WITHIN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS.  IT IS EXPECTED TO TURN PROFITABLE IN YEAR THREE.
WHARTON-HOOD IS CONFIDENT THAT THE TIMING OF STANDARD BANK'S BUSINESS TO
CONSUMER E-COMMERCE OFFERING COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER, SAYING THAT THERE ARE
CURRENTLY 1,8 MILLION INTERNET USERS IN SOUTH AFRICA (AND GROWING). MOREOVER,
STANDARD BANK ALREADY HAS 140 000 ACTIVE USERS OF ITS INTERNET BANKING
FACILITIES - REPRESENTING A TARGET AUDIENCE WHICH IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY
RECEPTIVE TO OTHER ONLINE TRANSACTING OPTIONS. BY ALIGNING WITH A YOUNG AND
DYNAMIC BRAND SUCH AS BLUEBEAN.COM, STANDARD BANK WILL BE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE
INTERNET-SAVVY SECTOR AND DEVELOP NEW REVENUE STREAMS FOR THE BANK AS CUSTOMER
ACCEPTANCE TAKES OFF AND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN BLUEBEAN.COM EXPANDS INTO
ITS NEXT EXCITING PHASES.
-ENDS-
CONTACT DETAILS FOLLOW-
ISSUED BY    : SASANI COMMUNICATIONS
               SYLVIA SCHUTTE /  MARIE HITZEROTH
               TEL. 011 784 2598

ON BEHALF OF : STANDARD BANK INVESTMENT CORPORATION (PTY) LTD
               JACKO MAREE -  011 636 2422
               PETER WHARTON-HOOD - 011 636 5530
DATE         : TUESDAY, 22 AUGUST 2000