Smart Cards, Smart Phones and a Cashless Society

Smartphone Payment Solution Replaces Cash, Debit and Credit Cards

August 31, 2010

PRNewswire - Cimbal, Inc., the developer of the world's first software-based near field communication payment network, announced today its public launch.

"With Cimbal you use your smartphone for payments in stores, online and person-to-person safely and securely, linking directly to your bank checking or savings account. Everyone benefits from Cimbal’s security that prevents identity theft, charge backs and fraud."

Watch the Cimbal® Demo Video Here

Cimbal® enables secure payment using a smartphone instead of a plastic card, providing active security in the hands of the consumer. Person-to-person payments are available on iPhones today, with Android and BlackBerry following soon.

For transactions, a Cimbal user creates a payment request on his phone or the Web. Cimbal's system produces a single use 2-D barcode token that does not include the transaction details or other sensitive data. The payer launches Cimbal on his mobile phone, enters a PIN, and scans the 2-D barcode.

Cimbal authenticates both parties and prompts them to confirm each other's identity. The system authorizes available funds and clears the transaction in seconds. Both parties receive confirmation receipts on their device and in their Cimbal account history. Cimbal is built around a highly secure platform. No confidential information is ever sent over the unencrypted channels or stored on a user's mobile device.

"Smartphones have become the leading lifestyle device. We seek to give consumers and enterprises greater value out of their mobile device investment," said Christopher Boone, CEO of Cimbal. "We are launching our person-to-person solution while we secure agreements with Global 3000 retailers to accept Cimbal as a new tender type, enabling consumers to pay with Cimbal in-store and online."

Cimbal delivers greater value to merchants with integrated coupons, merchant loyalty and reward programs, location based services and targeted offers -- all of which increase sales and merchant brand loyalty. Cimbal's payment process provides secure communication to both parties in the transaction and clears the payment within its system. It does not require expensive NFC readers and additional hardware embedded in mobile phones. Merchant acceptance of Cimbal is cost effective and future-proof, simply adding Cimbal as a new tender type to a point of sale system.

"Cimbal's novel software-only solution has the potential to accelerate adoption and growth of mobile payments because it makes implementation at the point-of-sale easier for merchants," notes a leading expert in the payments industry. "By eliminating some of the barriers, such as the need for new hardware or special readers, Cimbal has the opportunity to quickly grow merchant acceptance and drive consumer usage."

Person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions are free for consumers. Merchants pay a small transaction fee, much lower than credit or debit card interchange rates. Consumers benefit from Cimbal's convenience, security and electronic management of transactions in real-time, setting up payment plans, spending limits and integration into Web 2.0 services.

"As the Executive Producer of BizTechDay I constantly meet startups and small business entrepreneurs. Cimbal is definitely innovative and an awesome payment solution," said BizTechDay founder Edith Yeung. "I think more and more retailers will accept it as payment. This will change the way consumers pay."

Charlie Wen, a successful serial entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley and China adds,

"I've being evaluating Cimbal since its inception. Cimbal is the easiest to use and most secure mobile payment system I have experienced. Their proprietary technology is world class."

Register at www.cimbal.com, download the free iPhone application and start using Cimbal – the smart way to pay™.

About Cimbal®

Cimbal is a software-based near field communication payment network that turns a smartphone into a replacement for cash, debit and credit cards and the interchange network needed to process them. Cimbal can be used for payments in stores, online and person-to-person -- all in a consistent, simple user experience. Cimbal is an entirely software based solution integrated into a merchant point of sale system or online shopping cart, requiring no terminal or card reader hardware, for easier deployment, lower cost of operation and a future-proof, updatable solution. Cimbal can be used for person-to-person payments to or from any bank account or financial instrument, making it a viral payment mechanism for faster consumer adoption.

For additional information visit http://www.cimbal.com.

U.S. Merchants May Hold Off on m-Payment

August 27, 2010

Contactless News - Despite recent moves into mobile payment by giants such as Bank of America and Visa, US merchants may be hesitant to adopt the new technology, according to analysts at Reuters.

First, there’s the issue of cost. According to Reuters, merchants pay banks nearly $50 billion a year for processing transactions on credit or debit cards, including contactless or mobile transactions. More transactions means increased processing fees, and coupled with the cost of upgrading hardware, which normally only occurs every 5 years, merchants may be left with a bill too large to foot.

According to Red Gillen, senior analyst with consulting firm Celent, merchants are going to need a big incentive before committing to contactless mobile payment now, otherwise they’re just going to wait and see.

These incentives could come in the form of reduced processing fees or services such as more customer data, according to Reuters.

First adopters of the technology are most likely to be technology-savvy companies that cater to young customers with large networks, such as Starbucks, Target and the Apple Store, says Reuters.