Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Encore Payment Systems: Take Payments Anywhere with the iPad

March 28, 2012 -- In a fast-paced society it’s crucial for small business owners to keep up with the demanding traffic of their customers anytime and anywhere. It’s even more important to have an electronic payment processor that is able to provide secure credit card transactions on-the-go. Encore Payment Systems introduces the ultimate business solution with Clear Advantage Mobile powered by QwikPay for iPad.

MasterCard Introduces New Tool that Predicts the Potential for eCommerce Fraud in Real Time

March 28, 2012 09:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Expert Monitoring Fraud Scoring tool provides online merchants with another resource in the fight against fraudulent transactions

When tweeting this news, please use the hashtags #MasterCard and #MRCLasVegas

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ecommerce merchants have a new tool at their disposal to help mitigate the risk of fraud in online transactions, with MasterCard’s introduction of Expert Monitoring Fraud Scoring for Merchants.

“Our new tool allows acquirers and their participating merchants to look at the potential for fraud in a transaction in real time, and integrate the data into any existing fraud detection solution. This helps increase accuracy in fraud detection, and helps to reduce the bottom-line impact of fraud.”

The new tool enhances merchants’ insight into card behavior beyond a merchant’s website or a cardholder’s shopping cart. The service provides merchants with a predictive fraud score for Card-Not-Present transactions in real time to measure the likelihood that a transaction is fraudulent. This is done using fraud detection models designed specifically for eCommerce merchants, which uniquely enables merchants to evaluate a longer span of transaction history to deliver a fraud score that more accurately describes online cardholder behavior.

eCommerce merchants continue to face heavy losses from fraudulent transactions. According to the Lexis-Nexis^® 2011 True Cost of Fraud Study, merchants incurred costs of more than $2.33 for every $1 of fraud committed, absorbing more than $102 billion in total losses in 2011. To lower their risk in this space, eCommerce merchants utilize an average of four to seven fraud detection solutions to validate orders and identify fraudulent transactions.

MasterCard’s new tool also benefits consumers, as it helps protect them from fraudulent transactions on their cards, while minimizing the potential that legitimate transactions are declined.

“Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach, so online merchants must be even more vigilant in their efforts to protect the integrity of the online shopping experience for cardholders,” says Johan Gerber, Group Head, Global Network Products for MasterCard Worldwide. “Our new tool allows acquirers and their participating merchants to look at the potential for fraud in a transaction in real time, and integrate the data into any existing fraud detection solution. This helps increase accuracy in fraud detection, and helps to reduce the bottom-line impact of fraud.”

Simulations that MasterCard conducted with the tool showed that eCommerce merchants could realize a potential for 15-30 percent fraud loss savings, simply by reviewing or automatically declining transactions deemed as high-risk by the using the new tool.

Beginning in May, the Expert Monitoring Merchant Fraud Scoring tool will be available as an option for acquirers and their merchants across the globe on all Card-Not-Present transactions originating from U.S.-issued cards.

Point-to-point Encryption. Decoded!

March 28, 2012 -- YESpay now offers Point-to-Point Encryption - the latest technology that allows simple and secure payments through credit/debit cards at retail outlets while de-scoping PCI-DSS (payment card industry data security standard) certification process. This is achieved by simplifying the validation process by encrypting cardholder data at the time it enters a PINPAD/PED payment system and transporting it securely to payment processors, where it is decrypted, all within milliseconds! In today’s retail environment, where card data security is a major concern, Point-to-Point Encryption is emerging as an indispensible PCI-DSS solution.

Global Payments Again Honored at China UnionPay Industry Awards

08:30 ET

Global Payments Again Honored at China UnionPay Industry Awards

HONG... Global Payments, a Fortune 1000 company, offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management.

More news about: Global Payments Inc. , Global Payments Asia-Pacific Limited ,The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited , HSBC , China UnionPay (CUP) Awards

Visa Appoints Knight to Lead Its Credit and Debit Product Business in North America

March 28, 2012 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Kevin Knight joins from Nordstrom, bringing extensive retail and financial institution experience to new role

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) (“Visa”) today announced the appointment of Kevin Knight as the company’s Head of Credit and Debit Products, North America. In this role, Mr. Knight will be responsible for managing development and growth of Visa’s consumer credit, debit and small business product suite.

“Kevin’s deep knowledge of the payments industry and his experience from both a retailer and financial institution perspective make him an ideal choice to fill this role”

Mr. Knight joins Visa from Nordstrom, one of the nation’s leading fashion specialty retailers, where he most recently served as president of Nordstrom’s credit division and chairman of Nordstrom FSB, the company’s bank subsidiary. During his tenure at Nordstrom, Mr. Knight was responsible for the company’s credit business, payment acceptance and processing for its stores, and built Nordstrom’s retail loyalty program supported by credit and debit payment products. Prior to Nordstrom, he spent more than 20 years at GE Capital in a variety of positions with responsibility for credit card and other financial services.

“Kevin’s deep knowledge of the payments industry and his experience from both a retailer and financial institution perspective make him an ideal choice to fill this role,” said William M. Sheedy, Group President, Americas, Visa. “Further, Kevin’s unique insight into consumer needs and trends will prove valuable to clients as we develop products and services to help them grow their respective businesses.”

Kount Commends Mercator Advisory Group Report on Fraud Risk, Need for Integrated Solution

March 28, 2012 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Payments experts emphasize need for comprehensive, real-time fraud support in card-not-present environments

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kount Inc., a leading provider of fraud prevention technology, announced support for a number of key findings in Mercator Advisory Group’s Card-Not-Present Risk Management Across the Value Chain report, specifically the need for a comprehensive, real-time solution for any business operating in a card-not-present environment.

“Merchants, payment acquirers, and card issuers alike look to industry leaders like Kount to provide robust and integrated risk management tools that evolve at the speed of today’s business.”

“As a trusted consumer payments expert, Mercator provides valuable perspective on the impacts of fraud and the protection every business needs to minimize risk in card-not-present environments,” Steve Rouse, COO, Kount. “Our Kount Complete solution captures the deep tool integration for risk detection and the strong, interlocked defense mentioned throughout the report as the best option for businesses to combat fraud today. It also reflects the benefits of using a single provider with integrated tools that minimize transaction risk in nanoseconds to ensure a quick, lag-free purchasing experience.”

Mercator Advisory Group provides independent and objective analysis to assist its members in the payments and banking industries. While the Card-Not-Present Risk Management Across the Value Chain report includes findings consistent with Kount’s experiences, the analysis was conducted and produced independently of Kount. Notable highlights of the report illustrate the ongoing evolution of fraud and the capabilities necessary to combat it effectively, including:

Web‐based card‐not‐present (CNP) payment transactions continue to grow at a remarkable rate
New lines of CNP (and mobile) business enabled by e‐commerce have revised the criteria for evaluating fraud management tools
Today’s fraud detection systems must accommodate a widening set of channels and payment methods
An integrated approach to fraud management creates a better solution by interlocking defenses that add clarity and decisioning speed

“As card-not-present commerce continues to evolve with new lines of business, so does the risk of fraud aimed at merchants that accommodate remote customers,” comments David Fish, Senior Analyst in Mercator Advisory Group’s Fraud, Risk & Analytics advisory service and author of the report. “Merchants, payment acquirers, and card issuers alike look to industry leaders like Kount to provide robust and integrated risk management tools that evolve at the speed of today’s business.”

About Kount

Kount delivers an all-in-one fraud and risk management platform for companies working in card-not-present environments simplifying their fraud/risk operations while dramatically improving bottom line results. Kount provides a single, turnkey fraud solution that is easy-to-implement and easy-to-use. Kount’s proprietary technology has reviewed hundreds of millions of transactions and provides maximum protection for some of the world’s best-known brands. Kount’s solution is feature rich and technology proven. Regardless of the industry, Kount responds with accurate information in milliseconds, thereby enhancing the overall consumer experience. For more information about Kount, please visit www.kount.com.

Obopay Launches Payment Industry’s Most Comprehensive Disbursement Solution

March 28, 2012 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Broadest range of disbursement and bulk payment solutions sends funds instantly to payees own debit card, their bank accounts via ACH or loaded to a branded prepaid card

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Obopay, a leading provider of mobile and instant payment solutions for market-leading brands, today announced the availability of Obopay Disbursements, the broadest disbursement offering on the market. The new offering is the only one in the industry to enable a company to disburse funds from their corporate account directly into a payees debit cardaccount at another bank. The solution also enables disbursements as an electronic check through an automated clearinghouse (ACH) transaction, or to a branded prepaid card.

“Obopay offers the broadest range of disbursement and bulk payment solutions in the industry; enabling companies that need to issue high volumes of payments to disburse funds with speed, efficiency, security and scale”

With Obopay Disbursements, companies can realize significant business benefits by converting physical checks and cash into digital payments, which dramatically reduces their costs. Electronic disbursements can eliminate the high cost of issuing paper checks, estimated by the U.S. Treasury Department and industry research firms to be as high as $6 to $15 per check, as well as the complexity of handling lost and stolen checks, escheatment and potential exposure to fraud and theft associated with printing and mailing paper checks. Obopay’s offering makes transaction settlement easy for companies by providing them with a single, secure, corporate settlement account that manages all electronic transaction types. The solution delivers real-time balance and consolidated transaction reporting for easy reconciliation of each transaction type.

Obopay Disbursements enables companies to improve customer satisfaction through faster funding and expanded payment options, providing payees with unprecedented choice and speed in how they receive funds. Companies can transfer funds from their corporate account directly to a payee’s accounts in multiple ways including:

To a customer’s existing debit card (instantly to supported STAR, NYCE or PULSE branded debit cards)
To a bank account via an electronic check (ACH or equivalent)
To a branded Prepaid Card
To an Email, phone number or mobile wallet giving payees the ability to specify for themselves where to direct the funds

Obopay provides its Disbursement Solutions as an end-to-end manage service to its partners making it quick and easy to bring them to market. Obopay’s partners can leverage the company’s payment network connectivity, its regulatory compliance including licenses for money transfer throughout the U.S., and PCI level 1 compliance. Managed services can also include customer support services, prepaid card program management, settlement services and access to a robust suite of reporting. Obopay provides its partners with easy integration through APIs that enable them to integrate Disbursement Solutions into to their own applications. It can also provide easy to use applications for inputting disbursement instructions.

“Obopay offers the broadest range of disbursement and bulk payment solutions in the industry; enabling companies that need to issue high volumes of payments to disburse funds with speed, efficiency, security and scale,” said Obopay Vice President of Product Marketing David Schwartz. “Being a licensed money transmitter enables Obopay to make available to its partners unique services like instant disbursements. Instant disbursements allow our partners to take advantage of real-time interbank payments across payment networks, through our debit network connections. Our disbursement offering also takes advantage of our deep experience as a prepaid card program manager for leading brands.”

For more information about Obopay Disbursements, visit www.obopay.com/disbursements

MasterCard to Host Q1 Financial Results Conference Call

March 28, 2012 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

MasterCard Incorporated to Host Conference Call on First-Quarter 2012 Financial Results

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) will release its first-quarter 2012 financial results. The company will host a conference call to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The dial-in information for this call is 800-706-7749 (within the U.S.) and 617-614-3474 (outside the U.S.) and the passcode is 30182060. A replay of the call will be available for one week following the meeting. The replay can be accessed by dialing 888-286-8010 (within the U.S.) and 617-801-6888 (outside the U.S.) and using passcode 62437128.

This call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at mastercard.com.

Gemalto Wins Two Excellence Awards in China

March 27, 2012 09:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Recognized for its innovation in payment technologies and continuous commitment towards the Chinese Market

CARTES in Asia 2012

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announces its AllynisTrusted Service Manager (TSM) has won the “2011 Payment Industry Editor’s Choice of Excellent Products Award” awarded by PayNews, China’s first online portal for payment industry. Its Dexxis Instant Issuance solution also won an “Excellent Solution for Financial Industry Award” from Financial Computerizing magazine, a leading publication supervised by the People’s Bank of China. These accolades recognize Gemalto’s innovation capacity and leadership in secure payment solutions and services, with a number of deployments around the world.

“Our broad range of field-proven solutions and services is a valuable asset to support our Chinese customers with the nationwide migration to chip payment card and future mobile NFC initiatives.”

Gemalto’s Allynis TSM is a state-of-the-art servicing platform that combines banking grade security and interoperability for the installation and management of secure mobile NFC services. TSM is being used in mobile NFC commercial deployments around the world to enable wireless operators, banks, transport companies and retailers to provide secure and scalable contactless services to their end users. Gemalto has an unrivalled track record with over 50 NFC projects worldwide, which includes the IDA national consortium in Singapore, ISIS and Chase in the U.S., as well as Orange and Crédit Agricole in France among others.

Gemalto’s Dexxis Instant Issuance increases customer acquisition rates for banks by providing consumers with a new payment card on-the-spot, creating an instantaneous and strong relationship between the bank and the cardholder. The solution also enables hand-to-hand card delivery of all types of payment cards, directly at the branch or at retail outlets, substantially enhancing cardholder activation rates. Gemalto has already carried out a number of Dexxis Instant Issuance deployments around the world and is ideal to accompany Chinese banks in putting payment cards into the hands of their customers.

“These awards highlight Gemalto’s expertise in payment innovation and our commitment to the Chinese market,” said Tan Teck-Lee, Chief Innovation & Technology Officer and Asia President at Gemalto. “Our broad range of field-proven solutions and services is a valuable asset to support our Chinese customers with the nationwide migration to chip payment card and future mobile NFC initiatives.”

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2011 annual revenues of €2 billion and more than 10,000 employees operating out of 74 offices and 14 Research & Development centers in 43 countries.

We are at the heart of our evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work – anytime, anywhere – in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, identity protection, payment security, authenticated online services, cloud computing access, modern transportation, M2M communication, eHealthcare and eGovernment services.

Gemalto develops secure software that runs on trusted devices which we design and personalize. We manage these devices, the confidential data they contain and the services they enable, throughout their life cycle. We innovate so that our clients can offer more ways of enhancing the convenience and security of their end-users’ digital lives.

Gemalto is thriving with the growing number of people using its software and secure devices to interact in the digital and wireless world.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

OTI Files NFC Patent Infringement Suit Against T-Mobile

PRESS RELEASE

March 27, 2012, 2:00 a.m. EDT

Patent Covers a Design Critical for Implementing NFC in Mobile Phones

The "V-SIM" Patent Covers Authentication Outside the SIM Card
and is owned by NFC Data, Inc.

ISELIN, N.J., Mar 27, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- On Track Innovations Ltd. ("OTI")OTIV +14.38% today announced the filing of a patent infringement lawsuit alleging that T-Mobile USA, Inc. sells Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled phones that infringe OTI's U.S. Patent No. 6,045,043. NFC technology enables contactless payments with mobile phones, loyalty programs, data mining, and other applications. The lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 12-CV-2224.

This patent is part of OTI's extensive intellectual property portfolio, including over 100 issued patents and pending patent applications encompassing product applications, software platforms, system and product architecture, product concepts and more in the fields of Near Field Communications (NFC), contactless payments, secure ID, petroleum and parking solutions.

"We believe in the strength and value of our intellectual property and have the resources to protect it," said Oded Bashan, OTI Chairman and CEO. "We are also happy to provide innovative technology and partner with others in the industry to facilitate the growing future of contactless payments, data capture, loyalty programs, and more."

OTI is a pioneer in the contactless payment market and supported MasterCard and Visa, among others, in the creation and implementation of contactless transaction processing and payment solutions. OTI provides NFC devices and reader solutions including the COPNI (Contactless Payment and NFC Insert) device, which adds NFC capability to existing (non-NFC) mobile phones.

"This lawsuit is another step in OTI's ongoing strategy to leverage its IP assets, following the recently announced technology license agreement with a multibillion dollar corporation, and the issuance in January this year of OTI's U.S. Patent No. 8,090,407, entitled "Contactless Smart SIM," Bashan explained.

About On Track Innovations Ltd. ( www.otiglobal.com )

On Track Innovations Ltd. ("OTI") designs, develops and markets secure identification, payment and transaction processing technologies and solutions for use in secure ID, payment and loyalty applications based on its extensive IP portfolio. OTI combines state-of-the-art contactless microprocessor-based technologies and enabling hardware with proprietary software applications to deliver high performance, end-to-end solutions that are secure, robust and scalable. OTI solutions have been deployed around the world to address homeland security, national ID, medical ID, Near Field Communication (NFC), contactless payment and loyalty applications, petroleum payment, parking and mass transit ticketing. OTI markets and supports its solutions through a global network of regional offices and alliances.

New Study Shows That Big Banks Are Losing Millions of Customers to Small Credit Unions

According to a new study by Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc., big banks are losing millions of customers to smaller credit unions due to additional or rising fees. Titan List discusses this recent trend and the impact on credit unions and smaller banks, as well as their approach to customer acquisition and retention through targeted data lists and direct mail campaigns.

Many of the largest banks are losing millions of customers to smaller credit unions due to rising fees. Increases to fees or new fees, in addition to the elimination of reward programs, are giving credit unions and community banks a competitive advantage, which charge lower or no fees to their regular customers. According to a new study conducted by Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc., a leading direct mail advertising firm, the fees implemented by larger banks is the primary reason consumers have been switching to smaller banks and credit unions. Also discussed is Titan List’s approach to customer acquisition and retention through targeted data lists and direct mail campaigns.

Increases from banks such as $5 charged each month to consumers that use their debit cards to make purchases, or increased monthly fees on checking accounts, can be attributed to the bank’s reactions to government imposed fee reduction regulation programs that were designed to protect consumers and retailers from the high costs of overdrafts or other fees. This greatly affected the bank’s revenue, which led to price increases in other services such as checking accounts or debit card purchases.

Credit Unions have been seizing these opportunities to grow their members, due to the high level of consumers not satisfied with the fees and the service at large banks. According to Jared Braverman, director of marketing at Titan List & Mailing, “our credit union clients are having enormous success finding new customers through a combination of targeted data lists and direct mail campaigns. An effective criteria selection for the data lists uses geo targeting to search for customers in a specific radius, and then narrows the criteria with selects such as income, gender, or homeowners. Credit data can also be leveraged to pre-qualify leads with credit history, or existing credit cards.”

Direct mail campaigns have long been employed by credit unions or mortgage shops to find new customers, or offer incentives and services to existing customers. According to Braverman, “direct mail campaigns are an effective method to target a specific group of individuals that have an interest in a product or service. Other advertising methods such as tv, radio, or newspaper, don’t have the ability to target a specific demographic, so it is much harder to determine a realistic ROI. In addition, it is easy to track the results of a direct mail campaign by using custom 800 phone numbers or promo codes specifically for the campaign.”

ScholarChip® Announces New Platform for NFC Phones

With new ScholarChip applications, teachers and administrators can use smart phones and ScholarChip smart cards to take attendance and monitor hallways.

NEW YORK, March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- ScholarChip® is pleased to announce the immediate availability of its school safety and operations applications for phones equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

SCHOLARCHIP Parents with NFC enabled smart phones will be able to tap their child's smart school-ID on their phone and securely enter directly into ScholarNotify. With a tap, parents will be able to view notifications and navigate to student attendance and discipline records. (PRNewsFoto/ScholarChip) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES

ScholarChip's School Safety and Operations (SSOS) platform includes applications for taking attendance in classrooms and on school buses, monitoring hall traffic, paying for public transportation, making mobile payments, and ticketing for extracurricular events. The applications have been highly successful, using ScholarChip kiosks to read students' smart cards and other tokens. Now the process can be even easier.

New NFC-equipped Android phones can now complement the existing devices that read ScholarChip tokens. ScholarChip has issued more than 700,000 smart tokens over the past six years—including smart cards, fobs and paper tags—and the new NFC applications will be compatible with all of ScholarChip's existing tokens, integrating seamlessly into the company's established SSOS platforms.

A school using the new ScholarChip SSOS platform will be able to consolidate operations, reducing administrative overhead costs while increasing security and accountability.

The addition of NFC mobile devices to ScholarChip's SSOS platform will create an integrated experience for both students and teachers. A student travels to school in the morning simply by tapping her token against an NFC phone on the school bus, or a contactless reader on the public bus or at the subway turnstile. When she gets to school, she can then check in at an entry kiosk, allowing teachers and administrators to know that she has arrived safely. In her various classes, she registers attendance against a kiosk or an NFC phone, generating an attendance record for that class. At lunch, she can use her token to register attendance in the cafeteria or tap her card against a Point-of-Sale reader to pay for a meal or snack. For special events, such as sports games and concerts, a school attendant can use an NFC phone to monitor entry by authorized students. A student's wallet, keys and various other cards and tickets can all be consolidated into one secure token, which teachers and administrators can now read using Android phones.

ScholarChip is a leading provider of advanced applications for the educational community. ScholarChip has pioneered the concept of integrated SSOS for K-12 schools. The system includes a variety of applications to manage school operations and safety while reducing administrative overhead.

ScholarChip's programs also extend beyond K-12 schools. In the College and University market ScholarChip provides advanced financial solutions including Tuition Plans, Loan Servicing, Payment Gateway and notificatio

Mobile Commerce Leader ViVOtech Announces New Round of Funding

vivotech company logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

- Provides critical mCommerce software and systems infrastructure for major financial, retail, mobile and online services companies globally

- Shipped well over half of the NFC payment terminals installed by merchants globally

- Raised $96 million in total venture capital since founded

- Financing positions company to support the rapid expansion of mobile commerce and rollout of NFC payments

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ViVOtech, the near field communication (NFC) software and systems company, today announced the first closing of its Series D round of funding. This internal round will bring ViVOtech's total funding to $96 million since the company was founded and positions ViVOtech to support growing market momentum and drive the rapid expansion of mCommerce worldwide.

ViVOtech provides critical infrastructure to retailers and all major players in the mobile commerce ecosystem. Its software andPoint-of-Sale (POS) technologies are used by major financial services firms, leading mobile carriers, smartphone OEM's and online players such as the Google Wallet, and is integrated with Isis mCommerce solutions. ViVOtech has shipped nearly one million NFC payment readers to 328 customers in the United States and 181 customers internationally, accounting for well over half of all installed NFC readers globally.

According to Forrester Research, mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, driven by the rollout of NFC and other mobile payment technologies. Google (through Google Wallet), Isis, PayPal, and major financial services firms including Visa, MasterCard, and Citi, all have significant mobile commerce initiatives underway that will drive consumer adoption. Additionally, the tsunami of new NFC-equipped devices that are expected to hit the market over the next two years, and the deadline for merchants to transition to the EMV (Eurocard-MasterCard-Visa) standard in the U.S. by 2015, are providing further incentive for merchants to begin upgrading their payment systems now to support NFC payments. ViVOtech stands to benefit significantly from these trends.

"Companies across the mCommerce ecosystem are racing to capture their share of what is expected to be a massive opportunity," said Michael "Mick" Mullagh, ViVOtech's executive chairman. "This is driving strong demand for our software and systems. With this latest financing, we're armed to extend our leadership position providing the infrastructure needed to deliver on the promise of mCommerce."

"We're fortunate to be supported by a stellar group of venture and strategic investors," added Mullagh. "It's gratifying to see that, after many years of seeding the NFC reader market, we're now gaining strong commercial traction with our market-leading Trusted Service Management (TSM), Touch, Marketing and Loyalty software offerings for NFC- and QR code-based mCommerce initiatives."

About ViVOtech

ViVOtech, the near field communication (NFC) software and systems company, enables rich mobile commerce solutions for in-store payment, loyalty, marketing, and merchandising. Merchant, payment, mobile, web and advertising companies use ViVOtech solutions to enhance customer experience and grow their business. ViVOtech has shipped nearly 1 million NFC contactless readers and conducted more than 40 field trials of its NFC software, making ViVOtech NFC technology the broadest, most tested and deployed worldwide. Founded in 2001, Silicon Valley-based ViVOtech provides the key building blocks of the NFC ecosystem: smart applications for enhancing the customer experience, trusted service manager (TSM) software, and point of sale systems. ViVOtech's' investors include Alloy Ventures, Citi Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), EDBI (Singapore), First Data Corporation, Miven Ventures, Motorola Solutions Ventures , Motorola Mobility Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, NCR, SingTel Innov8, and Sprint. Join the NFC revolution at http://www.ViVOtech.com.

Monitise plc: Acquisition of Clairmail Inc.

Image representing Monitise as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Further enhances Monitise’s global leadership position in mobile money

Accelerates penetration of the US market

Expected to be earnings accretive before end of calendar 2013

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Monitise plc, (LSE: MONI.L), the technology and services company delivering mobile banking, payments and commerce networks worldwide, announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Clairmail Inc., a leading US provider of mobile banking and payments solutions (the “Acquisition”), further enhancing Monitise’s position as the global leader in the fast expanding mobile money market. Clairmail is growing rapidly with revenues in 2011 up by 90% year on year.

“Since 2004, we have been dedicated to helping our financial institution clients interact with their customers and drive new sources of revenue via mobile, the strategic channel of the future.”

The Acquisition consideration will be satisfied entirely by the issue of up to 312,787,144 new Ordinary Shares representing approximately 26.5% of the fully diluted share capital of the enlarged Company¹, post completion, and values Clairmail at approximately US$173²m (£109m), based on Monitise’s share price of 35.0 p as of the close of trading on March 23, 2012. The deal is conditional upon US regulatory and shareholder approvals. It is expected that the Acquisition will be completed before the end of the financial year 2012.

Acquisition highlights and benefits:

Further enhances Monitise’s position as the leader in mobile money globally.
Creates a pure-play mobile money company of unprecedented scale, in the US, which is expected to be the world’s largest mobile banking and payments market.
Unique bank-grade technology capabilities, network partnerships and R&D expertise.
Currently, the combined businesses provide world-leading mobile money services to 13m registered end consumers via some of the world’s leading financial institutions such as the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, two of the largest card issuers in the US, Lloyds TSB, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank and Fifth Third Bank among others.
Together the combined technology platforms process billions of transactions a year and over US$10bn of payments and transfers on a current weekly annualised basis.
In North America, the combined businesses following the completion of the Acquisition (the “Enlarged Group”), will provide mobile money services to the widest possible range of financial institutions. A third of the top 50 North American financial institutions (including 8 of the top 13) have chosen our services as well as 100s of smaller and medium sized financial institutions. The Acquisition provides a step change in growth potential for the Company through direct sales in North America. This, combined with Monitise’s existing and unmatched Visa Inc. and FIS strategic partnerships, provides the Enlarged Group with a leading position in the US and three commanding routes to market.
Presents significant revenue synergies through leveraging the Enlarged Group’s technology capabilities across the combined customer base and providing access to Monitise’s partnership network:
- Provides proven model for delivering services on both an on-premise and a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis to financial institutions in the US, maximising the potential pool of customers to which the Enlarged Group would be the supplier of choice.
- Provides the ability to offer enhanced product functionality to US financial institutions and a far broader product roadmap.
- Delivers the benefits of Monitise’s network approach to US customers by enabling customers to connect to a wide variety of service providers spanning finance, merchants, loyalty programmes and ticketing.
The Acquisition creates a world class team with an in-depth knowledge of the US and global markets. The Clairmail management team and employees are expected to remain with the Enlarged Group with Pete Daffern CEO, of Clairmail, working closely with Frank D’Angelo, Executive Chairman Monitise Inc. and former Executive Vice President of Payment Solutions at FIS, as Monitise focuses on accelerating its significant growth opportunity in the US.
The Enlarged Group has 600 staff across North America, Europe, the UK, Asia-Pacific, Africa and India, providing an unprecedented level of expertise in this high growth space.
A detailed integration plan is in place and integration will begin immediately following closing.

Financial summary and outlook:

Like Monitise, Clairmail is in the high growth stage in addressing the substantial global mobile money opportunity.
Clairmail’s revenues grew by 90% in calendar 2011 to US$18m³ (£11m), with a minimum contracted order book at year end of US$47m (£30m), plus an additional US$36m (£23m) of expected user generated revenues from existing contracts.
On a pro forma basis, the Enlarged Group’s revenues for calendar 2011 would have been US$56m⁴(£35m), with a minimum combined order book at year end of US$178m (£113m), plus a further US$226m (£143m) of expected revenues from existing contracts.
Combined pro forma revenues for calendar 2012 are expected to be close to US$100m.
The EBITDA⁵ loss for Clairmail in calendar 2011 was US$21m⁶(£13m), giving a pro forma EBITDA loss for the Enlarged Group of US$43m (£28m).
Before the end of calendar 2013, Monitise expects the Acquisition to be earnings accretive and the Enlarged Group to achieve EBITDA breakeven, with gross margins in excess of 70% by June 2013.
The Enlarged Group’s net cash balance on a pro forma basis at the end of calendar 2011 was US$73m (£46m).

Alastair Lukies, Monitise Group Chief Executive, commented:

“Monitise has established itself as the world’s number one platform and ecosystem of choice in the hugely exciting mobile money industry. This transaction further enhances this leadership position and is great news for all those wanting to offer bank-grade mobile money services to billions of consumers worldwide.

Combining Monitise and Clairmail substantially accelerates our already strong position in one of the world’s leading banking and payments market, namely the US. With a population of 314 million and over a 100% mobile phone penetration, it is anticipated that 111 million US consumers will be using mobile banking by 2016⁷ while mobile commerce revenues are forecast to hit $31 billion in 2016⁸. The future of payments, the internet, retail and social networking is all mobile.

This deal is transformational for our customers, our team, our shareholders and our company. With the ongoing support of our strategic partners such as Visa and FIS we are perfectly placed to help our clients in the financial services industry defend and extend their position amid the seismic changes being unleashed by mobile.

Pete and his team have done an impressive job in building relationships, products and the overall Clairmail business which is very well respected in the US market. We look forward to welcoming them to the Monitise journey.”

Pete Daffern, Clairmail Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Since 2004, we have been dedicated to helping our financial institution clients interact with their customers and drive new sources of revenue via mobile, the strategic channel of the future.

Consumers in the US are benefiting from increasingly innovative and integrated mobile banking, payments and commerce services on their handsets so they can manage their money on the move. Clairmail has established itself as a market leader as the appetite for mobile banking and payments has grown exponentially.

We are excited to be joining the Monitise family at a key point in the mobile money revolution. This combination presents a significant opportunity to jointly propel our innovative and market-leading products and services to the next level. Together, we are a more attractive partner for our customers and a more exciting company for our employees.”

The full press release is available at http://www.monitisegroup.com/media/press_releases?id=564

Goldman Sachs International acted as financial adviser and Canaccord Genuity Limited as Nominated Adviser and Broker to Monitise in connection with the Acquisition.

¹ Taking account of assumed issue of warrants and shares under option scheme
² Foreign exchange rate for Sterling/US Dollar used is $1.58, being the rate as at 23 March 2012
³ Management estimates of rebased IFRS numbers and accounting policies, equivalent revenues of $13m under US GAAP
⁴ Includes management estimates of rebased IFRS numbers and accounting policies
⁵ Defined as Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation, share based payments and exceptionals
⁶ Management estimates of rebased IFRS numbers and accounting policies, equivalent EBITDA loss of US$18m under US GAAP
⁷ Javelin Research, 2012
⁸ Forrester Research, 2011