Pay by Touch Introduces ATM Direct

ATM Direct, a company that Pay by Touch has been working with for the last two years and one that they acquired in their acquistion spree last December, is beta live.

ATM Direct has a patent pending "software only" solution for Internet PIN debit. PIN Debit is not yet available for internet retailers to use as a form of payment. When Pay by Touch makes it available, retailers will save approximately half of what they currently pay in interchange fees which translates to savings for their customers.

Here are some related links to previous posts which are also listed at the bottom of this post.

An EFT Network First...Biometric PIN Debit
Pay by Touch to Test PIN Debit on Web
A Closer Look at PBT's ATM Direct

Click here to visit ATM Direct, otherwise, here is an overview:

Real-time, PIN-debit payments over the Internet

PIN-debit has been proven to be the most secure payment method by over 20 years of retailing use. Consumers and merchants prefer PIN-debit over any other card based payment method.

atmdirect is the first software-only PIN-debit service for the Internet.

It delivers the same benefits PIN debit provides "brick and mortar" retailers including: lower costs, lower risks, ease of use and real-time, guaranteed funds.

atmdirect is the only software based payment service that meets or exceeds industry standards for PIN-based transactions.

Multi-Factor Authentication Solutions for the Internet

atmdirect delivers a complete, patent-pending, software-only solution for multi-factor authentication that meets or exceeds FFIEC recommendations for online banking.

Their proprietary solution utilizes advanced PKI, device intelligence, geolocation and behavioral analysis to protect consumers while transacting on the Internet. The authentication framework built to enable PIN-debit on the internet is now available as a FFIEC compliant solution for online banking.

What is atmdirect?

• atmdirect is a Pay By Touch company, the world leader in biometric payments and authentication at the point-of-sale.

• atmdirect is a certified PIN-debit and PIN-less acquirer-processor.

• atmdirect facilities have been audited and certified to meet or exceed the standards and regulatory requirements of the EFT industry.

• atmdirect provides PIN-based payments and authentication services to the Internet.

• atmdirect is driving a "cooperative" model to enhance the entire supply chain by leveraging the existing infrastructures and distribution channels.

• atmdirect dramatically expands the global customer base of the Internet by enabling the use of PIN-debit on the Internet.

• atmdirect is the only company in the world that can provide these services with a software-only solution.

• atmdirect's solution does not require any changes to bank or network infrastructure enabling rapid and low cost adoption worldwide.

• atmdirect represents a significant breakthrough for Internet commerce and online banking by providing secure payments and authentication.

• atmdirect is the emerging provider of software based multi-factor authentication services for online banking and consumers.

A Technology Breakthrough

ATM Direct's patent-pending technology allows for the secure and private entry of the PIN on a computer. When paying with PIN-debit, the consumer simply enters his PIN using their mouse on a graphical PIN-pad on their screen. The PIN is authenticated directly with the consumer’s bank through our secure data center by routing the transaction to the appropriate EFT network without passing the transaction through the merchant’s system. The PIN is never in the clear and cannot be logged or hacked. This service is a software based solution that the customer simply downloads when prompted by the merchant or a trusted partner.

INTERNET PIN-DEBIT PAYMENTS

The most secure and most widely accepted payment standard in the world is coming to the Internet.

Use of debit cards on the Internet continues to grow and now exceeds the use of credit cards. We deliver a unique, patent-pending, software-only solution that enables the secure use of existing bank-issued debit cards with their PINs. Internet PIN-Debit will dramatically reduce payment costs and fraud.

MORE SECURITY AND PRIVACY

The PIN authenticates the cardholder’s identity. We ensure that the consumer’s PIN is never in the clear, never available on the merchant site or in the consumer’s computer.

Benefits to Internet Retailers and Financial Institutions

Internet PIN Debit and our authentication framework combined with Personalized Marketing solutions will lower your processing costs, decrease fraud, protect your consumers online and increase your sales and profitability.

Our authentication platform provides you a real-time multi-factor authenticaion solution that meets and exceeds FFIEC recommendations, easy to adopt, secure and compliant, our customer focused solution insures your online brand is secure and protected during any online transaction.

Benefits for Customers

PIN debit has been in use for over 20 years at ATM Machines and retail store checkout and is proven to be the most secure payment method available. Now you can use your PIN-based debit card to pay for purchases on the Internet simply and easily just like you do with your card and PIN at the cash register in a retail store every day. There are no new devices, passwords or registrations required.

How to Get ATM Direct

It's simple! You simply downloand our secure proprietary PIN-pad to your PC or laptop. This download occurs just like your anti-virus software. This PIN-pad is wrapped with and protected by industry leading security software technologies and protections that ensure that no hacker, logger or spyware can ever see or access your PIN.

For further information on Pay by Touch Online and ATM Direct please see my previous posts which I have listed below for your convenience:

A Closer Look at PBT's ATM Direct
Pay by Touch to Test PIN Debit on Web
An EFT Network First...Biometric PIN Debit

Overcoming the Barrier to Adoption
Pay by Touch Online
A Closer Look at PBT Online

Phishing Out...Keylogging In

There is evidence that among global cybercriminals, phishing may already be passé.

Keyloggers Track Keystrokes...which is why I believe it was a brilliant move for Pay by Touch to acquire a patent pending software application which allows an online user to enter their existing PIN debit numbers ... WITHOUT USING KEYSTROKES.

Think about it. No username, no password. Instead, a biometric signature, combined, with a PIN number that is entered without touching your keyboard.

The benefits are blatant to the consumer, but the biggest benefits are to the Internet Retailers. According to last November's Internet Retailer Survey on Cards and Payments, 85.4% of respondents indicated that 90% of their online sales were paid for by credit card.

72.5% had credit card discount rates over 2% ranging as high as 6% or more.

In addition, according to CyberSource (who lost out on bidding for CardSystems to Pay by Touch) e-commerce will see $2.8 Billion Dollars in Fraud losses in 2005.

ATM Direct can save internet retailers 50% on their processing fees and at the same time virtually eliminate fraud losses.

For a detailed and closer look at how the ATM Direct acquistion will help PBT in the Internet payments space click here.

Boston Globe Article

Touch here for a secure payment
By Mark Baard February 27, 2006

I'm all for getting out of the drug store more quickly, even if it means trying some newfangled payment system. But I also worry that crooks will try to scan my RFID-chipped bank card, or lift my fingerprint off a bar glass and apply its latex double to a biometric reader device.

The folks at the fingerprint payment service Pay By Touch think I may have read too many Philip K. Dick novels, and they may be right. More than 2.3 million US consumers are already using Pay By Touch at 2,000 stores, according to Pay By Touch.

The Pay By Touch (www.paybytouch.com) system captures 40 ''data points" from a scan of your fingerprint and stores the data in a centralized database, at secure IBM data centers, along with your bank and credit account information. Then, you can make payments at retail outlets equipped with Pay By Touch scanners.

Now the same service is coming to PCs and the Internet: Pay By Touch Online promises to make online browsing and shopping more secure by making that scan of your finger a hurdle for identity thieves to overcome.

Think about it: The internet is teeming with bits of malicious code and imposter websites constantly trying to seize your usernames and passwords, and other personal information. But fingerprint readers are being incorporated into many new laptops and cellphones, and that will make the Internet more secure for consumers, said Pay By Touch cofounder and executive vice president Jon Siegal. ''Pay By Touch Online turns this untrusted device, the PC, into a trusted device," Siegal said.

As early as this spring, you will be able to use Pay By Touch Online to log on to secure websites without entering a username and password, if you have a compatible fingerprint reader device on or attached to your PC. You will also be able to make payments by touching the reader device and keying in a password.

PBT Names Global VP of Biometrics

Gary Bender to Strengthen the Company's Robust Biometric Architecture
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 27, 2006 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Pay By Touch, the global leader of biometric authentication, personalized marketing and payment solutions, today announced that Gary Bender has been named vice president of biometrics at Pay By Touch. In this capacity, Bender will oversee Pay By Touch's biometric technology applications.

"Gary's expertise in biometric technology is a driving force in continuing Pay By Touch's leadership position in biometric applications," said John Rogers, founder, chairman, and CEO of Pay By Touch. "His extensive background in biometric systems helps Pay By Touch stay ahead of the curve to provide the fastest, most convenient, most secure way to pay."

Bender brings to Pay By Touch more than 35 years of experience in technical and biometric management. A consultant in biometrics for more than 10 years prior to joining Pay By Touch, Bender was chief architect of the FBI's newest fingerprint identification system -- the largest system of its kind in the world.

He also played an integral development role in every large fingerprint system deployed worldwide, including national systems developed in the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Bender also spent 12 years each with TRW and Hughes, where he was a Doctoral Fellow.

"I've always kept an eye on Pay By Touch for its leading position in the consumer biometric authentication industry, and I am excited to work with a company that is making biometrics such a significant part of our lives and work," Bender said.

Bender earned a PhD from the University of Southern California.

Analysis: Besides hiring the best person possible for the position (as they have a history of doing) Pay by Touch operates a major card processing division ($18 Billion Annually) and with the recent launch of Pay by Touch Online, it seems logical that PBT has an eye on competing in the payments to government space.

It also seems to suggest that Pay by Touch has an eye on re-inventing the methodology of providing secure electronic payment options to government and other entities. The current industry leader is Official Payments. Here's more information on them...

Official Payments is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tier Technologies, Inc. Official Payments' proven, trusted Internet and telephone systems enable citizens to pay everything from tax bills to parking citations, using their credit or debit cards. OPC process a variety of payments, including estimated, extension, balance-due and past-due personal income taxes; sales and use taxes; business license fees; real estate, personal property and school district taxes; unemployment and disability taxes; college tuition and fees; fines for speeding and other traffic rule violations; fines for parking rule violations; and water, electricity and gas bills. Initially, citizens made their payments via the OPC Interactive Voice Response (IVR) toll-free telephone payment system.

In 1999 OPC added an Internet capability, enabling citizens to make payments and gain customer service information over our Web site. As a partner of both consumers and government, OPC is committed to making all types of payments to the government go fast, smart and safe. Citizens can safely charge their government fees and taxes to a credit card over the Internet (www.officialpayments.com) or by phone (1-800-2PAY-TAXsm).

Many citizens find paying with a credit card is more convenient, provides cash flow flexibility, and maximizes credit card rewards. A convenience fee is charged to the citizen utilizing the service to process payments. This fee is paid directly to OPC. Our government partners do not receive any portion of this fee.

With Gary Benders background, and connections worldwide, I envision a biometric online payment system which can be used to pay any and all government bills globally.

In addition, the biometric online purchase of airline tickets, combined with biometric check-in to verify the person who bought the ticket is the person who is flying would go a long way to increase security and enhance the whole process from purchase to boarding. Because of the financial woes of airlines, combined with the excessive fees charged by Visa and Mastercard to charge tickets, airlines could save millions annually and enhance security by adding a new touch to their current payment options.

For additional information on Pay by Touch, or to download a high-resolution photo of Gary Bender, please visit the Pay By Touch online press kit:

www.paybytouch.com/news/presskit.html.

PBT in 100 Chicagoland Jewel Osco's

Jewel Osco has launched Pay by Touch in 100 stores in Chicagoland and Indiana. Pay by Touch is now in all 23 Chicago locations as well as 77 suburban locations, including Munster and Hammond, Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there. ( 30 second audio sample )

Jewel Osco is the Chicagoland banner for Albertson's which was recently acquired by Supervalu. Albertson's piloted PBT in Portland, Oregon and had agreed to roll out PBT to their locations. Supervalu had also agreed to roll out PBT and has completed installations at their Cub Foods in Minnesota and Chicago, along with biggs, Farm Fresh and Hornbachers locations. Too bad Supervalu didn't purchase Safeway. What is Safeway waiting for? Everyone I've talked to at Cub Foods says their customers really enjoy "paying by touch" And the money Safeway would save would be enoromous. The data is in. Are they waiting until PBT launches it's "Personalized Marketing Loyalty Platform?" Maybe...then again maybe they should change their name from Safeway to Safe n' Sorry.

For a complete list of Jewel Osco locations installed with Pay by Touch, please click the link below:

http://www.jewelosco.com/eCommerceWeb/SaveAction.do?action=beginPBT&target=pbtStoreListPage


PAY BY TOUCH SCORES A SUPERVALU JEWEL:

Pay By Touch biometric readers are being used at the point of sale at a grocery and drug store chain that dominates the Chicago market and the northern Midwest. Jewel-Osco, operator of 204 combination grocery and drug stores and 77 freestanding drug stores in four Midwestern states, rolled out the Pay By Touch reader on Friday, sources tell CardLine.

A Pay By Touch spokesperson declined to discuss the Jewel implementation but said it is testing its program in the Portland, OR area in four stores owned by Albertsons Inc., Jewel's current parent. Pay By Touch has been a presence in the Midwest since last October when Cub Foods launched the program at 89 stores in three states (CardLine 10/13/05).

Grocery giant SuperValu Inc. currently owns Cub and is scheduled later this year to buy Jewel and other food operations of Albertsons. SuperValu joined with drug store chain CVS Corp., and an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP to pay $17.4 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt for Albertsons, a grocery chain with 2,500 stores in 37 states. Under the deal, SuperValu will acquire 1,124 grocery and combo-stores operating under the Jewel, Osco, Bristol Farms, Shaw's, Star Markets and Albertsons names; CVS will acquire about 700 stores; and the Cerberus group will buy 655 stores. Cerberus also will buy 26 Cub Stores in the Chicago area from SuperValu. Eden Prairie, MN-based SuperValu last year generated sales of $19.5 billion at 1,530 stores in 40 states. According to Hoovers Inc., SuperValu will operate 2,650 stores after the purchase.

Consumers enroll in the Pay By Touch program by registering a fingerprint and linking it to a checking account. To pay, the enrolled consumer places his finger on top of the Pay By Touch reader. If approved, the consumer also must input their 7 digit (no area code) phone number.

Video - Tech Closeup on Pay by Touch

Tech Closeup with John Rogers of Pay by Touch

Get in touch with the latest in fingerprint scanning technology and see how one company called Pay by Touch is using biometrics to capture the hearts and minds of supermarket shoppers throughout the South and Midwest.

Click Here to go to the site and see the QuickTime Video:

About Tech Closeup

This new half hour television program is designed to cover the high technology industry on a monthly basis. It will capture the true spirit of Silicon Valley, encompassing the drive, dedication, and visionary thinking of the men and women who work for firms of all sizes and technologies.

Each show will focus on:

The Process of Innovation - How today's high-tech firms are devoting major resources, time and energy to create new products that will change our lives tomorrow.

A Unique Climate For Success - How the rapid pace of technological innovation has required a new level of thinking in management practices and workplace culture.

The Role of the Community - How the Bay Area's educational institutions, public service agencies, local municipal governments and the media play significant roles in the growth and direction of the high tech industry.

Pay by Touch Launches in Colorado

Biometric Payment Option is now available at all Grand Junction, CO Stop 'n Save stores.

Tired of fumbling for your wallet to find your credit or debit card? Forgot your checkbook at home?

BioPay lets you leave all that hassle behind by letting you make purchases with just the touch of your finger! Imagine being able to run errands from grocery shopping to filling your gas tank to picking up dry cleaning, all in the most convenient and easiest way possible.

BioPay lets you...Free yourself from the need to carry your ID and checkbook Protect your privacy and identity
Make convenient and easy payments

http://www.featherpetro.com/BioPay.htm

John Morris to Present at Payments 2006

Payments 2006
Knowledge: The New Currency of Success
May 7-10, 2006 San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA



Session 704
Biometric Payment Transactions with ACH: Serious Cost Savings
Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Automated Clearing House Room: 31 C

Several major grocery chains have rolled out biometric-based authentication solutions in conjunction with ACH payments at the point-of-sale and are realizing significant cost savings and security benefits as a result. This case study features a merchant that has deployed such a solution and explores the decision-making, deployment experiences, and operational metrics encountered. Learn what the merchant went through in adopting this technology and what it means to its customers, operations, and bottom line.

Speaker: John Morris
President & Chief Operation Officer Pay By Touch

Poll: Will biometric payment systems become commonplace in retail stores in the future?

Yes (70%)
No (19%)
Not sure (11%)

Orlando Sentinel 2551 votes

CardSystems Solutions Settles with FTC

In the largest known compromise of financial data to date, CardSystems Solutions, Inc. and its successor, Solidus Networks, Inc., doing business as Pay By Touch Solutions, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that CardSystems' failure to take appropriate security measures to protect the sensitive information of tens of millions of consumers was an unfair practice that violated federal law. According to the FTC, the security breach resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulent purchases.

The settlement will require CardSystems and Pay By Touch to implement a comprehensive information security program and obtain audits by an independent third-party security professional every other year for 20 years. (the results are good for Pay by Touch in terms of potential clients knowing their data is safer with PBT than non-audited processors, thus giving them an industry advantage)

The proposed settlement requires CardSystems and Pay By Touch to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards. The settlement also requires them to obtain – every two years for the next 20 years – an audit from a qualified, independent, third-party professional that confirms that its security program meets the standards of the order, and to comply with standard bookkeeping and record-keeping provisions.

This case is similar to prior FTC actions involving alleged failures to secure credit and debit card information. As in the prior cases, CardSystems faces potential liability in the millions of dollars under bank procedures and in private litigation for losses related to the breach.

It should be noted that Pay by Touch is exempt from any liability that may, or may not have incurred, because the breach took place prior to their acquistion of CardSystems and because they acquired CardSystems assets, not the company itself.

The FTC said it would publish the proposed settlement in the Federal Register, then accept public comments for 30 days before finalizing the settlement.

Pay By Touch acquired CardSystems in December.

Copies of the complaint and consent agreement are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/02/cardsystems_r.htm)

Solidus Bids on Verus but SAGE Prevails

Verus is going to be acquired by SAGE but Solidus gave it the ole' college try. Here's the story...

Verus gets rival bid, says it'll sell to Sage

A San Francisco payment systems provider has made a rival bid to acquire Verus Financial Management Inc. of Nashville, but Verus sent information to shareholders saying it still is recommending the deal with British software firm The Sage Group.

Earlier this month, Sage agreed to buy Verus for $325 million in cash.

Solidus Networks Inc., whose Pay By Touch fingerprint payment systems is used mainly by grocery chains, offered $325 million in cash, preferred stock worth $75 million and an incentive pool of $25 million to be paid out to Verus' management. Solidus plans to pay $50 million of the $325 million of cash at the closing and the other $275 million 120 days later based on its obtaining financing on satisfactory terms, according to "supplemental information" received by shareholders of Verus.

Rich Roberts, chief executive of payment processor Verus, said the company still plans to complete the deal with Sage as early as next week. He cited that deal being more certain since it is not dependent on Sage needing to arrange financing. He also cited potential of accepting another deal creating legal issues and provisions in Solidus' offer such as "due diligence" that allows Solidus potentially to walk away.

M&A's - Landmark Year in Payments Industry

Payments Industry M&A Report - Q4, 2005

NEW RESEARCH REPORT BY MERCATOR ADVISORY GROUP

Mergers and acquisitions continued at full speed during the fourth quarter of 2005, making 2005 a landmark year for the payments industry. Highlights of this quarter included:

* The merger of the world's two largest smart card manufacturers, Gemplus and Axalto
* U.S. third-party card processors continued international expansion efforts
* Pay By Touch Solutions serial acquisitions

The Payments Industry M&A Report - Q4 2005 provides comments and analysis on major deals announced within the fourth quarter of 2005. It also includes summary information on the payments industry related M&A deals, contact person(s) related to each deal, and an M&A activity table that summarizes the highlights of each deal. The report contains 45 pages and 3 exhibits.

More About Pay By Touch Serial Acquistions:

Following $130 million worth of new financing in October 2005, biometrics payment solution provider Pay By Touch has been on a buying spree. Since then it has purchased, or announced plans to purchase, SIX other companies. First, they completed their acquistion of Dallas based ATM Direct, which has a patent pending, software only solution to bringing PIN Debit to the Web. PBT announced their PBT Online Program February 6th, 2006

Pay By Touch got much of the industry's attention three months ago when it outbid CyberSource Corp. for beleaguered third-party processor Card Systems Solutions Inc. (see "Pay By Touch Outbids CyberSource to Acquire CardSystems," The Green Sheet, Nov. 14, 2005, issue 05:11:01). "The acquisition brought Pay By Touch access to CardSystems' 120,000 merchant customers, $18 Billion in annual card processing and a direct connection to acquiring banks and ISOs

Between Dec. 2 and 15, Pay By Touch bought three loyalty and rewards program-related companies: Capture Resource, a rewards program supplier for gift cards with 120 million enrollees, 7th Street Software Inc. and Convena LLC, two loyalty technology companies.

It also announced plans to purchase competitor BioPay LLC, which will bring 2 million enrolled users, 1,600 retail locations and more than $7 billion in transaction processing. "BioPay has perfected an excellent check-cashing solution, and Pay By Touch is making incredible inroads in in-lane payments," said John Rogers, Pay By Touch founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are hand in glove, and together we can provide solutions for retailers and consumers alike."

Also during this time, the company announced a partnership with NCR Corp. to combine both companies' hardware and software solutions. Other Pay By Touch partners include Hypercom Corp., Ingenico, VeriFone, IBM (who just awarded PBT a coveted Beacon Award) , Accenture and Discover Financial Services.

In 2004, Pay By Touch acquired InterCept Payment Solutions, which specializes in card-not-present transactions, Pay By Touch's biometric authentication payment system allows shoppers to pay for purchases with a finger scan, which is tied to their bank accounts and loyalty programs.

3 of the 5 companies acquired by Pay by Touch were loyalty driven, enabling PBT to create their proprietary "personalized marketing" program.

For more information on "1 to 1 marketing" there's a good article written by Jesse Quatse (VP Product Operations at 7th Street Software) entitled: The Technology of One-to-One Marketing

Bill Townsend Joins Pay by Touch

Pay By Touch Names Bill Townsend Executive Vice President, Office of the CEO

MarketWatch: Last Update: 6:32 AM ET Feb 21, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 21, 2006 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Pay By Touch, the global leader of biometric authentication, personalized rewards, and payment solutions, today announced that Bill Townsend has been named executive vice president, office of the chief executive officer. In this capacity, Townsend will work closely with Pay By Touch founder, chairman, and CEO John Rogers to oversee the company's strategic and visionary efforts.

Townsend brings to Pay By Touch a rich background in launching new companies. He was a part of the founding management team at Internet search engine Lycos, Inc. and has launched and managed several companies including YouthStream Media Networks (now Alloy), GeoCities (now Yahoo!), NewsAlert (now MarketWatch), Deja News (now Google and eBay), and voice-over IP pioneer Really Easy Internet (now Hey, Inc.).

"Bill's track record for success with several major companies has already proven invaluable with our recent acquisition activities," said John Rogers, founder, chairman, and CEO of Pay By Touch. "I've known and worked with Bill for more than six years and am confident that his expertise across industries will continue to add value to Pay By Touch as we continue growing our customer and consumer base and enter into new vertical markets."

Townsend's 20 years of diverse business experience span education, media, and technology. Prior to joining Pay By Touch, Townsend was a partner and managing director of Interminds, LLC, a management-consulting firm that assists companies with strategic planning, troubleshooting, consumer adoption, incubation, and pre-IPO guidance. He also served as chief marketing officer of Cyber Operations, a technology research and development firm conducting military and government initiatives, and vice president and director of marketing for Ketchum, a global Top 20 advertising agency, where he ran global new business. Townsend was also the Republican nominee for United States Congress in 1992, Pennsylvania District 20.

Townsend earned his bachelor's degree at The College of Wooster and an MBA in global management from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. He lectures on entrepreneurship and private equity finance in the MBA department at Baylor.

For additional company information, or to download a high-resolution photo of Bill Townsend, please visit the Pay By Touch online press kit: www.paybytouch.com/news/presskit.html.

About Pay By Touch

Pay By Touch is the global leader of biometric authentication, personalized rewards, and payment solutions. The company's patented biometric products and services enable shoppers to conveniently and securely access personal accounts using a finger scan to identify themselves, make purchases, cash checks, and earn rewards. Pay By Touch also provides robust payment processing solutions for ACH, card-present and card-not-present debit and credit transactions. To date, Pay By Touch services over 154,000 retail clients, manages personalized rewards programs for more than 130 million opt-in consumers, and has more than 2.3 million shoppers using biometric authentication products and services at 2,000+ locations coast to coast. Founded in 2002, Pay By Touch is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco that employs more than 500 professionals and holds more than two-dozen U.S. issued patents. For additional company information, visit www.paybytouch.com.

SOURCE Pay By Touch Shannon Riordan of Pay By Touch(TM), +1-415-281-2253, or shannon.riordan@paybytouch.com; or Aaren Weidner of Porter Novelli, +1-408-369-4667, or aaren.weidner@porternovelli.com, for Pay By Touch http://www.prnewswire.com Copyright (C) 2006 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

PBT Online at eTail 2006 and NACHA

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 21, 2006 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Following on the heels of last week's launch of Pay By Touch Online, Jon Siegal, executive vice president of Pay By Touch Online, will discuss the company's new service with leaders in e-commerce, marketing, and operations at two industry conferences.

Pay By Touch Online is a new payment and identification service that gives consumers a fast, convenient, and secure way to identify themselves and make purchases on the Internet.

Pay By Touch Online uses innovative technologies such as finger identification, encryption, and secure data centers to provide the necessary multiple layers of authentication and security that haven't existed until now in one service. Based on Pay By Touch's patented biometric technology, Pay By Touch Online is the only solution that increases security and convenience at the same time.

Siegal will first speak to e-commerce, marketing, and Internet service executives at 9 a.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 21 during Customer Protection & Security Day at the eTail 2006 Conference at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, Calif.

Following eTail, Siegal will present to key influencers in the financial services, payment processing, and e-commerce industries during the "Biometric and Out of Band Authentication" session at the NACHA Internet Council Meeting.

The session is scheduled for 2:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana Point, Calif.

Jon Siegal on drums at DEMO 2006
Click for larger picture

Pay by Touch and BioPay FAQ

Pay by Touch recently completed the acquistion of BioPay so what happens to the BioPay customers?


Here's the FAQ from BioPays website:

BioPay, LLC was acquired by Pay By Touch in January of 2006. Following is a set of frequently asked questions we have received from customers and prospects about BioPay and Pay By Touch

What is changing at BioPay?

In January 2006, BioPay LLC was officially acquired by Pay By Touch, a San Francisco-based company that also offers biometric payments solutions to retailers across the country as well as personalized marketing and payment processing solutions.

The combined solutions of both companies serve over 144,000 retail clients:

We have biometric products and services for 994 retail clients in over 2,000 locations;
Personalized marketing opt-in products and services to 12,000 retail client locations;
Payment processing for 131,000 merchants in both brick-and-mortar and Internet;
We now have more than 2.3 million customers enrolled in biometric products and services,
We manage opt-in personalized marketing programs for more than 130 million consumer profiles.

Will there be any changes to BioPay's biometric services?

No. You should continue to expect the same great convenience, speed and security from BioPay's biometric payments as you have received in the past. In the future, Pay By Touch will integrate the two existing networks (BioPay and Pay By Touch) into one seamless biometric payment network. Pay By Touch also provides opt-in personalized marketing solutions and payment processing solutions, so expect more products and services to be available from one single source provider. But right now, BioPay customers will continue to benefit from BioPay's current commitments, including:

Protecting your information consistent with our strict privacy policy.
Protecting you 100% from any fraud or ID theft loss as a result of your use of BioPay, with our
Consumer Protection Policy guarantee.
Delivering consistently high quality customer service.

Can I use my finger to pay at Pay By Touch locations today?

Not yet. Consumers enrolled in BioPay can continue to shop at all BioPay locations. However, if you wish to use the Pay By Touch system to pay with your finger, you will need to enroll in that system separately.

What is going to happen to these services in the future?

With the acquisition of BioPay, Pay By Touch has an advanced team of leading biometric software engineers dedicated to creating one seamless international network for biometric payments.

This means that consumers will be able to enroll once and then shop at any retailer in the entire network. Additionally, the Pay By Touch system offers consumers the ability to place multiple payment methods (including credit and debit cards) in their Pay By Touch Wallets. When the integration is complete, today's BioPay members will be able to pay with their finger at a wider network of retailers.

What is the impact to BioPay's payroll check cashing service?

Paycheck Secure, our biometric authentication solution for retailers who cash third-party checks, will continue to be offered by Pay By Touch. Consumers enrolled in the system will continue to be able to easily and quickly cash paychecks or government checks at retailers offering Paycheck Secure, now powered by Pay By Touch. For more information about this product, visit www.paychecksecure.com.

Where can I get more information?

Visit the Pay By Touch website and read the press release announcing the completion of the acquisition.

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

Health Care Firm to Sign with PBT

Pay by Touch to Sign Deal with Major Health Care Organization

San Francisco-based Pay By Touch expects to announce a deal within two months with a large health care organization whose employees would be able to pay for cafeteria meals and parking with a touch of a finger to a scanner, Steven Yecies, senior vice president and general manager of Pay By Touch Healthcare Services, tells CardLine.

He would not name the organization but says it has more than 10,000 employees. Yecies says Pay By Touch, a voluntary program that allows consumers to tie their finger images to pre-registered payment cards and checking accounts for easy payment at checkout, is well suited for medical personnel who wear medical garb and may not carry wallets.

He says he expects that 10% to 20% of a company's employees would choose to sign up for the biometric-authentication program, about the same response Pay By Touch sees in its installations at supermarkets and other retail locations. Yecies, who joined Pay By Touch recently after 20 years in health care, says Pay By Touch also is negotiating with a variety of companies that provide services to health care organizations to more broadly deploy biometric authentication for consumer payments in doctor's offices and other medical settings.

For more information on Pay by Touch's Health Care Platform visit:

http://www.paybytouch.com/business/healthcare/index.html

Source: CardLine

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

Pay by Touch Online Video Presentation

Video Jon Siegal on Pay by Touch Online: click picture left or Here


DEMO 2006 Participant:
Product: Pay by Touch Online

Market Segment: Consumer software and services

Overall Funding: $237 Million

2006: $60 Million Dollars: On January 26th, 2006, Pay by Touch closed more than $60 million in new financing through its sale of Series C Preferred Shares. The company continues to prove its business model to the financial community, raising more than $190 million during the past three months.

Participants in the financing include hedge funds Plainfield Asset Management and Scout Capital, plus private investors such as Quince Associates and Global Trust Partners, among others. As part of the financing, the company's prior round of Convertible Promissory Notes was converted to the new Series C Preferred Shares.

2005: $130 Million Dollars: In October of 2005, Pay by Touch closed on $75 million in senior secured notes with major investments from Och-Ziff Capital Management and Farallon Capital Management. Other participants included Plainfield Asset Management. $55 million in convertible promissory notes offering, with major investments from Getty Trusts, Ron Burkle of The Yucaipa Companies, and Rembrandt Ventures.

2003: $37 Million Dollars: Led by Mobius Venture Capital, and included the Gordon P. Getty Family Trust and private investors.

Competitors: RSA Security (Cyota), Passmark Security

Product Description: Pay By Touch Online is a new payment and identification service that gives consumers a fast, easy and secure way to identify themselves and make purchases on the Internet by providing a quick finger scan on their personal computers. The new service, which uses Pay By Touch’s U.S. patented biometric technology, increases both security and convenience at the same time.

Market Opportunity: Pay By Touch Online was created to protect consumers’ personal and financial information from increasing security threats to online commerce. The company’s target market includes 186 million U.S. Internet users estimated for 2006 (2003 U.S. Census, eMarketer, April 2004) and the more than 450,000 Internet merchants conducting U.S. business (Forrester, 2004)

DEMO 06 Says: There’s no more simple way to tender payment than the touch of a button, and that's what Pay By Touch Online offers consumers. A quick fingerprint scan triggers a debit or credit payment at the checkout or online. In regional trials, consumers have overwhelmingly embraced the Pay By Touch Online system. And because it reduces fraud, speeds checkout, and requires little or no change to transaction processing, Pay By Touch Online is being adopted by national supermarket chains. If early trials are an accurate indicator, it won’t be long before we can leave our wallets at home and simply Pay By Touch.

SHOW:

Conference: 2006 DEMO , 2006 INNY Award Winner
Show Contact Alicia Swanson email
Address 101 Second St., Suite 1500 San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-281-2200 FAX: 415-281-2201
Company URL: www.paybytouch.com

Corporate Officers

John Rogers, Founder, Chairman, and CEO
John Morris, President & COO
Jon Siegal, Executive Vice President
Caroline McNally, CMO

Consumer Closeup - Pay by Touch

Weekly Consumer Feature on KAAL-TV, from Rochester, MN. This week featured Pay by Touch" as a safer alternative to credit cards


Click this Link to watch video report

(KAAL) -- If you're like most people, you're used to sliding your credit or debit card everyday and might wonder if there is a safer way to pay for your purchases. A new system called Pay by Touch may now make it harder for criminals to get their hands on your money. A store in Rochester is taking technology a step further with touch.

Cub foods began the Pay by Touch payment system in November and customers are starting to catch on. Crime Prevention experts say they wants to see biometric pay technology become more common in the future. To make it mission: impossible for criminals to tamper with your money

PBT Expands into Financial Services

TWO FINANCIAL SERVICES EXPERTS JOIN PAY BY TOUCH
Drew Hyatt and Elizabeth Yata join PBT to manage company's new financial services offerings

SAN FRANCISCO, February 15, 2006 — Pay By Touch, the global leader of biometric authentication, rewards marketing, and payment solutions, today announced plans to expand its financial services offerings with the addition of two new industry experts.

Drew Hyatt, senior vice president, and Elizabeth Yata, vice president and group product manager, will lead Pay By Touch's banking and credit authorization services. Hyatt will kick off this new initiative during the Pre-Paid Card Expo, where he will speak during an Emerging Card Technologies Workshop at 1 p.m. on Feb. 15 in Orlando, Fla.

Hyatt and Yata will apply their considerable experience to the goal of increasing adoption of Pay By Touch's biometric authentication technology to the benefit of consumers and institutions in the financial industry.

Under their leadership, Pay By Touch will begin offering banks the ability to instantly verify customer identity with a quick finger scan - the industry's most advanced safeguard against identity theft. The Pay By Touch service also protects financial institutions from the billions they spend in transaction and new account fraud, two of the industry's biggest pain points.

"Pay By Touch's biometric authentication technology will bring great value to the banking community, which spent about $47 billion on fraud last year alone," said John Rogers, founder, chairman, and CEO of Pay By Touch. "Drew's and Elizabeth's expertise in banking and fraud protection will bring significant value to Pay By Touch as we move into a market desperate for an effective anti-fraud solution.

"Hyatt brings to Pay By Touch more than 15 years of financial services experience. He has held several executive-level positions, including president of HNC Software Financial Solutions Group, a leader in credit card fraud detection, and senior vice president and corporate officer of Digital Insight, a leading on-line banking application service provider.

Hyatt has also developed patents in this area. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Yata brings to Pay By touch more than 20 years of financial services experience. She began her career in the International Division of Crocker National Bank and spent nearly ten years at Bank of America, holding numerous product management positions including vice president and group product manager for both retail and wholesale banking services. Prior to Bank of America, Yata spent nine years in various roles at Visa U.S.A., including senior vice president of service management, where she was responsible for defining and managing processing solutions for business initiatives. Yata earned a bachelor's degree in management from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

Pay by Touch Wins 3rd Award in 30 days

Pay By Touch's Patented Consumer Biometric Authentication Service to be Featured in the Tech Museum of Innovation

Pay By Touch, the leading provider of biometric authentication, rewards marketing and payment solutions, today announced it has received the INNY Award from The Tech Museum of Innovation ("The Tech"). INNY Awards are presented to a premier group of innovations The Tech believes will impact people's lives and inspire the innovator in everyone.

As a recipient of the 2006 INNY award, Pay By Touch's innovative consumer biometric authentication technology will be featured in The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Calif. Pay By Touch received the award following a successful week at DEMO 2006, where the company launched a new identification and payment service that gives consumers a convenient and secure way to identify themselves and make purchases on the Internet. The Tech seeks to provide visitors with unique museum experiences that will encourage them to become the next generation of innovators," said Sheila Grinell, interim CEO of The Tech Museum and presenter of the INNY Awards. "We're really excited to showcase INNY Award winning products at The Tech so visitors can experience these new technologies first-hand." Recipients will demonstrate their "INnovative" and "INspiring" products "IN the museum"

"Pay By Touch is changing the way the world transacts," said John Rogers, founder, chairman, and CEO of Pay By Touch. "We are truly honored to showcase our innovative payment service at The Tech, because it brings this significant payment shift into perspective. More consumers will have an opportunity to experience a revolutionary technology that we expect will become common practice for everyone within the next few years."

About The Tech Museum of Innovation

Located in the heart of downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley, Calif., The Tech Museum of Innovation, a non-profit organization, engages people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives and aims to inspire the innovator in everyone. For more information, visit http://www.thetech.org/ or call 408-294-TECH.

Links:

Biometric Authentication Company Receives Top Tech Award
Pay By Touch Honored With 2006 INNY Award
A Closer Look at Pay By Touch's ATM Direct Program


It's the Third Significant Award Pay by Touch has won in the last 30 days
It also won a Retail Systems Achievement Award last June

Two weeks ago, Pay by Touch, in conjunction with Green Hill Grocer, won the prestigious Supermarket News 2006 Technology Excellence Award for the implementation of it's biometrically enabled Loyalty Suite softwarre program called SmartShop. Information about Pay by Touch's Personalized Marketing Program can be found by clicking the link below:

http://www.paybytouch.com/business/merchants/personalized_marketing.html

Although it has not even been officially announced by Pay by Touch, IBM has officially announced that Pay by Touch has been honored with a coveted 2006 Beacon Award According to IBM:

The IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Awards acknowledges the best solutions IBM Business Partners have to offer from every part of our business.

The IBM Global Service (IGS) Teaming Award for Independent Software Vendors (ISV's) will be presented to Pay by Touch at PartnerWorld 2006 in March. Look for an upcoming announcement regarding this honor in a future press release.

More About PBT's Retail Systems Achievement Award Won Last June

Pay By Touch announced last June that partner Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. received the award for “Best Customer Touchpoint System” during the Seventh Annual Retail Systems Achievement Awards. The company was a finalist alongside global retailers such as Starbucks and Marks & Spencer and was honored to be considered among such prestigious, innovative global retailers. Piggly Wiggly won the award for its use of Pay By Touch technology to improve customer service and business processes with innovative, interactive technology applications.

The Retail Systems Achievement Awards honor outstanding examples of systems and innovative applications that have resulted in more effective customer service and improved business processes. These awards recognize individuals and companies whose efforts and company-wide dedication to information technology and effective business processes have raised standards throughout the industry.

CATEGORIES:

Best in Customer Touchpoint Systems
Best in Corporate Systems
Best in Multi-channel Innovation
Best in IT/Business Alignment

PRESENTED BY: Retail Systems Alert Group Chain Store Age

A Closer Look at PBT Loyalty Program

They say Loyalty Programs work only on those customers who were already loyal. The reason is that they're so generic, and one program doesn't really stand out from the other.

I have no personal loyalty to any specific grocery store. They all have food. I'm more loyal to "brands" than I am to stores. I can get "OM Bacon" at any grocery store. I don't have to go to a specific one. Therefore, would I be more likely to go to the store that has a sale on OM bacon? Like most, I think I would.

I do happen to know from my own personal experience, that loyalty programs can backfire. When a Rainbow Foods started their Rain-bow Card program, they showed two pricing schedules in the store. One with the card and one without. This made me feel that if I didn't want to go through the hassle of carrying a card with me, I was going to be punished by paying more, not rewarded by paying less. If they never introduced the card, I never would have felt that way. So I stopped shopping there. I'm not going to pay $5 for OM bacon when a "loyalty card holder" only pays 3.00. I would pay $5 if everyone else did as well. So it backfired. Instead of creating a loyal customer, they completely eliminated one.


I also don't feel I'm alone when I say that I don't like to go to the service desk and grab a "weekly ad savings" brochure, then have to take the time to search for coupons on items I want to buy. When I find them, I don't like having to mark them, or rip them out of the flyer, and organize them so that they don't fall out of the cart while I'm shopping. I don't like having to wait for people who hand out coupons to cashiers one at a time by tearing them out at checkout time, and I don't like having to go through the whole process and feel somewhat "cheapened" because I used a coupon in the first place. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so.

Well consider if, on the other hand, if I could walk into a specific store, go to a kiosk, identify myself and get a printout of discounts based on "what I buy" not what the "store buys in bulk", OM Bacon for example is $3 instead of $5 because I bought it for $5 two weeks in a row. What if it was on one sheet and already organized, and I didn't have to cut anything out. (like a receipt from a cash register, with bar code discounts for easy, fast checkout, unlike coupons) What if it automatically matched up to what was bought so I don't get a $1.00 discount on Breyers Ice Cream if I didn't buy it, but I do get the $2.00 discount on OM Bacon because I did.

That's a scenario under which I would become loyal to that store. (Really because of the kiosk, but the result is the same for the store) This is the future of loyalty...personalized marketing. What if my printout offered me "OM Hot Dogs" at a discount, because I like "OM bacon"? I wouldn't be offened in the least because it's still my choice, but I do have an "relational" option I didn't have before the service. I'm not going to buy "generic" bacon because I like OM bacon. If I can save money buying things I would buy anyway, and it's made that easy, why wouldn't I do it? I would.

This, in essence is what Pay by Touch's new Personalized Loyalty Program is all about. I get a "personalized" weekly ad savings printout that only includes items I buy, and I simply hand it to the cashier at checkout for a quick scan and receive my "personalized" discount.

This collaboration with Green Hills Grocer and Pay by Touch recently won the prestigious Supermarket News 2006 Technology Excellence Award.

Let's take a closer look at this innovative program with some copy from their website:

With Pay By Touch Personalized Promotions, truly individualized, high-impact marketing is finally possible. Our targeting engine tracks each individual shopper's purchase history and serves up relevant offers from a finger-accessed kiosk right inside your store.

At checkout, discounts are automatically rewarded without the need for cards or key fobs. As a grocery store owner, you avoid the high printing and distribution expenses of traditional mass marketing solutions, since Personalized Marketing reaches each shopper - relevantly - and at a fraction of the cost of flyers and FSIs. Waste is virtually eliminated because offers are presented based on what a shopper buys most.

Shoppers can even choose to have each offer conveyed to them over a cell phone, to a Web site, or via email, as well as through the Pay By Touch kiosk placed inside of your store.

Click Picture for Larger Image or Download Adobe Acrobat PDF Pay by Touch Brochure below