Circle K Increases Speed and Convenience for Customers at More Than 1,500 Stores...

Circle K Increases Speed and Convenience for Customers at More Than 1,500
Stores with MasterCard(R) PayPass(TM)

MasterCard PayPass contactless payments continue to gain traction at merchants
who look to make consumers lives easier

PURCHASE, N.Y., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterCard Worldwide announced today
that Circle K, one of North America's most popular and successful operators of
convenience stores, is now accepting MasterCard PayPass at select stores
across the U.S. With a simple tap of a MasterCard PayPass card or device at
checkout, Circle K customers can now purchase their everyday items more
quickly and conveniently.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061031/MCLOGO )

"For more than 50 years, Circle K has remained one of North America's most
popular places to shop because we continually look for innovative ways to
improve the customer experience in our stores," said Bryan Ritenour, Circle K.
"Our shoppers, who are regularly 'on the go,' will enjoy the speed,
convenience and shorter lines that result when they tap to pay with MasterCard
PayPass, instead of fumbling for cash and coins at checkout."

The use of contactless payment cards continues to see exponential growth. The
number of MasterCard PayPass cards and devices in market has grown from nearly
13 million as of Q4 2006, to more than 23 million as of Q4 2007, to more than
50 million as of Q4 2008. According to U.S. consumer research by the Smart
Card Alliance, issued in September 2008, nine percent of the U.S. population
has a contactless payment card or device, and this figure continues to grow.

"Circle K is an ideal environment for MasterCard PayPass because the benefit
of faster transactions at the point of sale translates directly to busy
shoppers," said Cathleen Conforti, senior vice president, Global PayPass,
MasterCard Worldwide. "By accepting MasterCard PayPass, Circle K is taking an
innovative step to improve customer loyalty and customer throughput at the
register."

About 94 percent of PayPass-using respondents to a 2008 MasterCard PayPass
Benchmark Study were satisfied with their experience, and 77 percent of
PayPass consumers said they use PayPass as their primary card for everyday
purchases.

About MasterCard PayPass
MasterCard PayPass is ideal for traditional cash-heavy environments where
speed is essential, and has led the way in bringing contactless technology to
consumer categories such as quick serve restaurants, drug stores, gas
stations, vending machines, convenience stores, sports arenas, movie theaters,
transit systems, taxis, parking garages and more. As of 4Q 2008, there are
over 50 million PayPass cards and devices in use at over 141,000 merchant
locations worldwide, including participating BP, Best Buy, 7-Eleven, CVS,
McDonald's, Petco and many others. PayPass also is accepted at numerous
professional football and baseball stadiums. For more information about
MasterCard PayPass and a full list of participating merchants, visit
www.mastercard.com/paypass.

About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic
link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants
worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and
markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions
each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to
financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard
Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R),
Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more
than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to
www.mastercard.com.

About Circle K
For more than 50 years, Circle K has been one of North America's most popular
and successful operators of convenience stores. Today, there are more than
2,100 Circle K stores across the USA and over 4,000 international locations.
Circle K is part of the Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. group of companies which
is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In North America,
Couche-Tard is the second largest independent convenience store operator
(whether integrated with a petroleum company or not) in terms of number of
stores. Couche-Tard currently has a network of 5,444 convenience stores, 3,607
of which include motor fuel dispensing, located in 11 large geographic
markets, including eight in the United States covering 33 states and three in
Canada covering ten provinces. More than 46,000 people are employed throughout
Couche-Tard's retail convenience network and service centers.

SOURCE MasterCard Worldwide

Tristan Jordan of MasterCard Worldwide, +1-914-249-5724,
tristan_jordan@mastercard.com