WALTHAM, MA and CHICAGO, IL — September 22, 2004 —Peppercoin and Moneris Solutions today announced an alliance to meet the small payments processing needs of merchants. Together, Peppercoin and Moneris will deliver a comprehensive and cost-effective small payment processing product suite that enables profitable small payments.
Peppercoin, a payments company that enables profitable, new business models for low-priced digital content and physical goods, recently introduced the Peppercoin 2.0 system to reduce transaction processing and customer service costs while driving increased small payments traffic over the payments network.
Moneris Solutions, one of North America’s largest electronic transaction processors, will make Peppercoin 2.0 available to its existing merchants and Peppercoin merchants by the end of the fourth quarter of 2004. Peppercoin’s small payments suite compliments Moneris’ portfolio of solutions that enable merchants to accept credit and debit cards, paper and electronic checks, and gift and loyalty cards.
Moneris will leverage Peppercoin 2.0 and its suite of small transaction services to make card-based small payments profitable for retail and Web-based merchants, thus providing merchants with a new way to grow revenues, while increasing the volume of transactions flowing through its systems.
“This agreement is a significant milestone for Peppercoin, as one of the largest electronic payment processors has committed to our solution to drive their expansion into the multi-billion dollar small payments market,” said Bob Kiburz, president and CEO of Peppercoin. “Teaming up with Moneris is a strategic move towards transitioning our customers to Peppercoin 2.0 and providing the most efficient and cost effective solution that meets the needs of the financial services industry.”
Last year total consumer transactions below $5 at the physical point of sale in the U.S. represented $1.32 trillion, according to the Tower Group. Converting cash to electronic payments is a highly attractive growth opportunity for electronic small payment processing. The largest markets include vending, convenience/grocery, and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), as well as fast-growing markets for digital music downloads, cellular ring-tones and mobile games. According to Forrester Research, digital music downloads will reach $3.2 billion in revenue by 2008. In-Stat/MDR estimates mobile games to increase to a $3 billion market by 2006 and the ARC Advisory Group has already seen cellular ring-tones eclipse $3.5 billion in 2003. With Peppercoin 2.0, the payments industry – including card associations, banks, payment processors and merchants - can capitalize on these emerging markets.
“Moneris is committed to delivering our clients the full range of payment solutions they need to build and grow their businesses,” said Larry C. Wine, president of Moneris Solutions, U.S. “We identified the need for a small payments service offering that would allow us to address this emerging market. Peppercoin’s system fits within the financial industry’s existing infrastructure and allows Moneris to deliver an efficient and cost-effective payment processing alternative for small-dollar transactions.”
With Moneris now providing payment processing with the Peppercoin 2.0 solution, Peppercoin will work with its existing customers to transition them to 2.0 and make the small payments purchasing experience seamless to the consumer. Peppercoin 2.0 provides a transparent interface that easily integrates into existing payments networks and reduces processing customer service costs. Peppercoin accepts credit and debit cards, and handles pay-per-use and stored value as well as subscription payments.
About Moneris Solutions
Moneris Solutions ( www.monerisusa.com) has a 30-year history as one of North America’s largest electronic transaction processors, delivering advanced payment card processing capabilities through point-of-sale hardware, payment processing software, e-commerce solutions and a gift and loyalty program. Moneris provides transaction-processing services nationwide through numerous agent banks and serves the small to medium-sized business market through direct sales and strategic partnerships. A joint investment of the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal, which have assets in excess of $700 billion, Moneris Solutions serves more than 350,000 North American merchant locations and has a staff of over 1,100 employees. U.S. headquarters are located outside of Chicago, IL.
About Peppercoin, Inc.
Peppercoin enables profitable new business models for low-priced physical goods and digital content. Peppercoin’s suite of small payment transaction services helps merchants, banks, and other payments companies build market adoption quickly through a flexible, consumer-friendly approach. Peppercoin integrates easily with existing business models and payment systems to accelerate revenues and increase profits while dramatically lowering transaction and customer service costs. For more information visit www.peppercoin.com.
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| For Peppercoin: Mark W. McClennan or Payal Patel peppercoin@schwartz-pr.com |
| For Moneris: Marcie Cheney 202-296-2002 x103 mcheney@environics-usa.com |