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| ViVOtech’s
Infrastructure Software For Contactless and NFC Mobile Phone Payments
Named Finalist In SESAMES Awards
Following
Successful Worldwide NFC Payment Field Trials, ViVOtech Readies
Broad 2008 Commercial Roll Out With Multiple Network Operators
 SANTA
CLARA, Calif. – October 24, 2007 – ViVOtech,
the leading provider of contactless Point of Sale terminals and
NFC software technologies, today announced its ViVOnfc Suite 2.0
infrastructure software for Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile
phone payments and promotion applications has been selected as a
finalist in the best software category for the prestigious SESAMES
Award, to be presented at CARTES 2007.
“We
are honored to be recognized by the SESAME Awards for our NFC mobile
payments and OTA promotions infrastructure software,” said
Michael Mullagh, ViVOtech’s CEO. “This recognition validates
our leading position in the industry and underscores the value of
our technology strategy for contactless payments. Today, the ViVOnfc
solution has been proven in multiple pilot programs all over the
world, where it has consistently delivered a positive consumer experience
while introducing wireless operators, banks, merchants, and service
providers to a strong value proposition that can be facilitated
by using NFC technologies in their businesses.”
The
SESAMES Awards are presented annually as part of the Cartes and
IT Security exhibition and conference and are widely regarded to
be the highest accolade in the industry. The awards are decided
by a jury made up of international experts and journalists in the
smart card industry. From a field of over 200 applicants in 2007,
judges selected finalists based on criteria to determine the most
innovative products across 10 categories including hardware, software
and applications. Winners will be announced at the SESAMES Awards
Ceremony on Monday, November 12, 2007 at CARTES & IDentification
2007 Congress in Paris, France.
ViVOtech
Pioneering Mobile Phone Payments With Near Field Communication (NFC)
ViVOtech utilizes NFC technology to deliver their payment and promotion
solutions. NFC is a 13.5 MHz radio frequency based technology that
provides up to 4 inches of wireless connectivity between two enabled
devices, allowing mobile devices to electronically interact with
point of sale payment systems, ATMs, kiosks, smart posters, promotions,
and self-service check-in systems. Industry analyst firm ABI Research
recently forecasted that NFC chips will be embedded in 292 million
handsets, or 20% of all phones worldwide, by 2012.
The
ViVOnfc suite of Infrastructure Software has been successfully deployed
in more than 15 trials conducted in the United States, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Singapore, Hong Kong, and China with a variety of players across
the NFC ecosystem from major card associations, branded and retailer
card issuers, merchants, major mobile phone manufacturers, to mobile
phone operators (wireless carriers). To view more details about
these programs, go to ViVOtech’s website (www.vivotech.com).
These
pioneering trials featured a number of “Firsts” including:
- First
Asia e-purse NFC phone solution with top-up using a national stored
value prepaid card - Singapore, September 2007
- First
global NFC phone wallet solution enabled with biometric control
- United States, June 2007
- First
global over the air (OTA) provisioning solution for both coupons
and payment cards into NFC mobile phones - Taiwan, February 2007
- First
global over the air (OTA) provisioning solution for both credit
and debit - New York, Chicago and other cities in the United States,
January 2007
- First
global over the air (OTA) provisioning of merchant loyalty cards
into NFC mobile phones – China, August 2006
-
First global NFC mobile phone payment and service discovery Trial
- United States, December 2005
ViVOnfc
infrastructure software plays a central role in creating a positive
user experience for both consumers and other key participants in
the mobile phone payment ecosystem. Participants in the trial programs
were provided with NFC mobile phones pre-programmed with ViVOwallet
software and could easily download credit, debit, stored value cards
over the air into their mobile phones using ViVOnfc over the air
(OTA) infrastructure software. Users were able to make payments
at tens of thousands of contactless enabled merchants, instantly
‘pick up’ coupons or dynamic promotions to get information
about products from smart posters and redeem coupons or promotions
electronically at the point of sale using ViVOtech’s contactless
readers.
Trial
participants’ overwhelmingly accepted paying using mobile
technology, reporting they were ready to use mobile payments for
every transaction they make at merchant locations and expressed
interest in having multiple applications available on a single mobile
device. They also reported they would like to see expanded use for
transit, loyalty and digital content applications.
Merchants
participating in trials using the ViVOnfc solution also reported
success, pointing to faster check out lines when they provided customers
with a way to pay using an NFC mobile phone. These same merchants
also said they were able to drive traffic into their stores by sending
out instant promotions through either smart posters or through the
provisioning of coupons over the air to mobile phones.
For
more information about detail survey results announced from various
NFC payment pilots using ViVOtech’s Infrastructure software,
please visit the ViVOtech website at www.vivotech.com
About
ViVOtech
ViVOtech (www.ViVOtech.com)
is the market leader in NFC mobile payments, promotions, over the
air (OTA) provisioning infrastructure software, transaction management
software, NFC smart posters and contactless terminals. These innovative
solutions allow millions of consumers to make contactless payments
with radio frequency-enabled credit/debit cards, key fobs and NFC
mobile phones. ViVOtech's products are used by some of the most
prominent retailers worldwide with close to 320,000 contactless
terminals shipped in 25 countries. In 2007, ViVOtech was named #1
in New ABI Research Contactless reader ranking. ViVOtech was also
recognized as Top Contactless Payment Technology Vendor in Aberdeen
Group’s “Retail Contactless Payment Report.” In
August 2007, ViVOtech announced strategic investments from First
Data Corporation, a leading provider of electronic and payment solutions
for businesses worldwide, and NCR Corporation, a leading global
technology company helping businesses build stronger relationship
with their customers. Both companies use ViVOtech technologies and
systems to further their contactless/NFC offerings.
Editorial Contact:
Heather Kelly
SSPR
800-287-2279
heather@sspr.com
*ABI Research is a N.Y.-basedtechnology market research firm founded
in 1990. ABI publishes market research and technology intelligence
on the wireless, automotive, electronics, networking and energy
industries. Details can be found on the web at www.abiresearch.com
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