CHICAGO, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkBase, Inc., a leading processor of white-label loyalty and stored value programs, announced that their free PayCloud® Mobile Wallet application is now available to Chicago area iPhone and Android smartphone users. PayCloud eliminates loyalty cards, allowing customers the option of waving a smartphone at a participating merchant's countertop sensor to check in, redeem rewards and coupons, and track their loyalty account status.
For the more than 50 million iPhone and Android smartphone users, their phones are already compatible with PayCloud Mobile Wallet. Now, Chicago area residents can download the free app that allows them to easily find over 20 local merchants, instantly join their loyalty programs, receive coupons, promotions, and earn additional rewards. In the next 10 days, 50 local merchants will be on PayCloud. By 2012, SparkBase estimates there will be more than 200,000 businesses participating nationwide in the PayCloud network.
"PayCloud provides the perfect alternative for people who rely on their smartphones for nearly everything and who don't want the hassle of carrying around yet another plastic loyalty card," says SparkBase CEO, Douglas Hardman. "When consumers see a local business on PayCloud, they are now more to likely sign up for its loyalty program because we've made it so easy for them."
Customer advantages will only increase as additional businesses join the network. When smartphone carrying tourists want a good place to eat or a fun place to visit in a new city, PayCloud will offer local area suggestions based on the types of places the traveler already visits back home.
PayCloud also brings peace of mind to the security conscious. In June, SparkBase integrated Zoosh, a Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, into PayCloud which means no special chip is required to conduct secure transactions between a smartphone and the mobile payment device. "Security is on our servers, not the phone," states Hardman. "Too many people today are trying to secure their phones, forgetting that these devices change frequently. Instead, we put everything out on the cloud while tracking everything internally on our servers."
"PayCloud is definitely consumer-facing. But more importantly, it's a secure mobile wallet technology today's consumer can rely on and trust," says Hardman.
About SparkBase
SparkBase enables financial services organizations, ISOs, acquirers and other merchant services providers to create and sell a variety of stored-value offerings including gift cards, loyalty, and rewards programs without heavy investment in product development or IT. SparkBase, 2011 winner of the ETA's "Technology Innovation Award," entered the stored-value industry in early 2004 as the first truly independent white-label loyalty and stored value processing network. SparkBase continues to lead in innovation with its proprietary gateway, using patent pending technologies for processing stored value transactions. For more information, visit www.sparkbase.com
SOURCE SparkBase, Inc.
