News from the Wire

C-SAM, MasterCard partner on global mobile commerce

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 — 12:29:57 (EST)

Chicago and Purchase, N.Y., Dec. 12, 2012 -- Mobile wallet and transactions platform provider C-SAM and MasterCard (NYSE:MA) today announced a global strategic partnership, as well as a minority investment by MasterCard. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Founded in 1998, Chicago-based C-SAM provides the end-to-end infrastructure required to operationalize a mobile wallet. This includes back-end management infrastructure, software development kits and on-device software that support secure proximity near field communications (NFC), bar code, QR code and cloud-based transactions. The C-SAM platform also supports customer-specific offers, loyalty incentives, banking, bill-pay options and non-financial secure transactions.

By leveraging the MasterCard digital payment infrastructure including PayPass™ Wallet Services, C-SAM will be able to significantly enhance its current offering and increase the value provided to its customers and consumers.

“Our solutions and services fully complement MasterCard’s core competencies. The partnership enables us to more rapidly develop innovative mobile commerce products, and increase the breadth and depth of our services,” said Felix Marx, chief executive officer, C-SAM. “We look forward to working with MasterCard to offer attractive end-to-end mobile solutions for service providers around the globe.”

“This partnership further strengthens our ongoing efforts to work with industry-leading companies to deploy our technologies and help drive innovation and adoption in the rapidly evolving digital payments space,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “C-SAM’s proven track record and expertise in developing mobile platforms, combined with our worldwide network and suite of industry-leading payments solutions, will help enable us to deliver new, innovative solutions to a wide range of global customers.”

Today’s announcement builds upon an existing marketing and commercialization relationship formed earlier in 2012. The potential of the partnership was evident when Singapore-based StarHub launched its NFC-based SmartWallet mobile app in early August 2012.

“C-SAM and MasterCard played a vital role in the development of our secure digital wallet service, enabling our customers to conveniently shop, pay for transport, redeem discount coupons and use digital credit or debit cards securely with a single tap of their NFC-enabled smartphone,” said Ms. Yeong Mun-Ling, vice president of business strategy, StarHub.

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com , is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.

About C-SAM

C-SAM, Inc. is a pioneer in secure mobile transactions technology. The company provides turnkey services to carriers, banks, merchants, settlement networks, healthcare providers, and large infrastructure providers. C-SAM has launched commercial services in the US, Japan, China, India, Singapore, and Mexico. For more information, visit www.c-sam.com or follow us on Twitter at @c_sam_inc .

The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information: bankcardlife.com?orid=33533&opid=1 .

Source: Company press release.