erix's multi-application architecture at the point of sale has been so successful in its first year, VeriFone has decided to signify its anniversary with a new standard of recognition in the industry - the Verix Innovation Awards.

The awards recognize innovative solutions implemented by VeriFone partners, customers and members of VeriFone's Developer Forum, using Verix and running on the Omni 3300, Omni 3350 and portable Omni 3600 terminals.

Winners were selected from all regions and vertical market segments, including financial retail, petroleum/convenience store, multilane retail, telecom and government-education-medical. The honorees represent a wide variety of Verix-based payment and value-added solutions to support credit, debit, prepaid telco, electronic bill payment, loyalty, government regulation, smart cards, contactless payment and Internet-connected e-services.

In use in 29 countries, VeriFone's Verix operating platform provides application separation at the hardware and software level. By minimizing the need for processors or acquirers to go through lengthy and costly re-certification processes, Verix allows for larger, more complex applications to be added while maximizing the amount of memory available on the terminal. New applications are added to a payment appliance, offering a dynamic memory allocation to ensure efficient use of memory by automatically adjusting to the size of each application residing on a terminal.

Among the 20 recipients of the Verix Innovation Awards were:

GE Card Services - Recognized for its multi-application installation of more than 5,000 Omni 3300 payment terminals running a private-label credit application.

Automated License Systems and Central Bank - Honored as partner in delivering a solution to the Missouri Department of Conservation, which uses Verix-based Omni 3300 terminals to issue various types of fishing and hunting licenses at a merchant's point of sale.

Smartconnect Private Limited - Honored in India for its RetailSmart application that enables a full fledged Electronic Cash Register System running on an Omni 3300 or Omni 3350 terminal.

APPI Informatica - Brazil-based developer recognized for delivering direct Web-based connectivity to VeriFone terminals including the Omni 3350 multi-application terminal.

E-pay Ltd - England-based telco customer recognized for creating an application that enables electronic top up payments for prepay mobile phone customers in Britain via the Omni 3350 terminal.

Prism Payment Technologies - South African partner honored for developing an application for Payshop, a company establishing a value-added multi-application switching environment in Portugal, deploying 1,200 Omni 3350 terminals.

Other Verix Innovation Award winners by region include:

North America: ExxonMobil, Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company, e-Smart Direct Services Inc.

Asia Pacific: E-Pay Asia Limited, GHL Transact, Loxley Business Information Technology Co. Ltd.

Latin America and the Caribbean: Bancomer, Bancard, Teracom Chile.

Europe, Middle East and Africa: Moneybox, Printec, Point Sweden, Point Latvia, Marshal.

"We're pleased to honor these winners - after all, their innovation is the fuel driving the rapid rate of acceptance we're seeing around the world for our Verix-based solutions," said Pierre-Francois Catte, vice president and general manager of VeriFone. "With VeriFone, these companies are defining the new point of sale - a global, secure, multipurpose 'point of profit' that generates new revenue streams, improves customer loyalty and lowers the total cost of ownership."

More information is available at www.verifone.com.