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NEWS
MEDIA RELEASE 03 September 2007 SYMMETREX, INC. CERTIFIES AS MASTERCARD® PAYPASS™ TRANSACTION PROCESSOR
Symmetrex, Inc., leading US transaction processor today announced its certification to process MasterCard®
PayPass™ transactions in Europe. The certification ensures that all
PayPass transactions are processed with all the technical requirements of the MasterCard
PayPass specification.
Contactless payments are quick and convenient way for consumers to pay and are as safe as any traditional credit card transaction. The
PayPass card uses a Radio Frequency (RF) payment device to transmit payment information securely from the card to the merchant terminal. This device eliminates the need for a merchant to swipe the card through a reader, allowing the cardholder to remain in control of the card and decrease transaction time. Today, more than 55,000 merchants accept the 16 million
PayPass cards in issue globally.
Symmetrex, Inc. can now process the full range of transaction types, including
PayPass, magnetic stripe-based payments and Chip and PIN based payments.
ABI Research has announced results from a study of contactless payments adoption concluding, "Worldwide demand for contactless hardware, software, and services to support contactless adoption will reach more than $1 billion by 2012, up from $260 million in 2007."
Edward Evans, Symmetrex CEO, comments, “This certification ensures that Symmetrex remains a leading contender within the processing and payments sector globally. We are now better able to service existing and future clients, such as banks and vendors, who have observed the advantages of integrating contactless functionality with existing and planned programs.
“Contactless payments will undoubtedly have a considerable impact on the payments industry as a whole. The rapidly growing demand for contactless payments, such as
PayPass, is evident in a number of countries and territories. Symmetrex, Inc. is well positioned to accommodate this demand with end-to-end clearing and settlement processing solutions and certified for issuer processing in the United States of America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean as well as Middle East and Africa regions.”
Owing to the dynamic nature of the Symmetrex, Inc. i24 Platform, implementation of payment services, including PayPass is especially straightforward. Vendors and banks wishing to implement MasterCard PayPass will require a period of system integration testing before implementation.
PayPass uses standard card data for the payment transaction, leveraging the existing magnetic stripe-based or Chip and PIN-based payments infrastructure.
About Symmetrex, Inc.
Acquired by Altair Financial Services International Plc (www.altair-financial.com) in Nov 2006, Symmetrex, Inc. is an established transaction processing company with operation centres in Maitland, Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 2001 to provide virtual banking, Symmetrex is already one of the largest prepaid card processors in the US. Symmetrex is uniquely capable of helping business partners deliver innovative and cost effective financial payments and prepaid solutions in their respective markets. For more information, visit
www.symmetrex.com.
About MasterCard PayPass and Maestro PayPass
PayPass is MasterCard’s ‘contactless’ payment feature, which provides consumers with a fast and convenient alternative to cash for their everyday small purchases, such as public transport tickets, coffee, sandwiches or fast food, petrol and others. It can be added to any MasterCard credit, debit or prepaid card, or to a Maestro debit card.
PayPass allows merchants to function more efficiently and serve their customers better.
PayPass speeds consumers through the check-out process, reduces cash handling, improves efficiency and provides competitive differentiation.
About MasterCard Europe
MasterCard Europe is the entity responsible for managing MasterCard Worldwide’s business in Europe, for Europe. With headquarters in Waterloo, Belgium, MasterCard Europe works with 51 European countries organized administratively into three customer areas, incorporating the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), mature markets and the developing markets of Europe, stretching as far afield as the eastern border of Russia. Through its network of local offices, MasterCard Europe can understand and meet the diverse needs of customers in the very different types of markets throughout Europe, enabling people to do business in their own way in their own language.
Through MasterCard Worldwide, MasterCard Europe offers its European customers and consumers access to leading payment services throughout the world. 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 over 16 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, go to
http://www.mastercard.com.
For further information, please contact: Symmetrex, Inc.
Michael Besner, Sr. V.P. Business Development on +1 407-551-1315 or email
mbesner@symmetrex.com
Altair Financial Services International Plc.
Steven Phillips on +44(0) 20 7659 1178 or email
steven.phillips@altair-financial.com
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