News from the Wire

Pay By Touch to Acquire BioPay Strengthening Both Companies' Value to Retailers and Consumers

Tuesday, December 06, 2005 — 13:53:36 (EST)

SAN FRANCISCO – December 6, 2005 – Pay By Touch™, the leading provider of biometric authentication, loyalty, membership and payment solutions, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire BioPay LLC for $82 million in stock and cash. BioPay is a biometric services provider with two million enrolled consumers, 1,600 retail implementations, and more than $7 billion in transactions processed. %%N %%NThe merger will combine each company’s unique strengths and market positions to bring new capabilities and solutions to retailers and consumers. Pay By Touch has established a strong position with tier 1/tier 2 retailers, signing agreements with two of the top five U.S. grocers and having 55 of the top 100 retailers as customers, with 7,000 retail stores under contract for biometric payments. In addition, Pay By Touch has powerful loyalty/rewards solutions to bring true one-to-one marketing to retailers. BioPay is the industry leader in biometrically authenticated check cashing, with more than two million consumers in retailers across 42 states. BioPay has biometric payment solutions established in many small-to-mid-sized retailers. Each company’s clients and consumers will soon have access to the combined solutions of both. %%N %%N“Pay By Touch and BioPay complement each other because we have been successful in different areas of the marketplace,” said John Rogers, founder, chairman, and CEO of Pay By Touch. “BioPay has perfected an excellent check cashing solution, and Pay By Touch is making incredible inroads in in-lane payments. We are hand in glove, and together we can provide solutions for retailers and consumers alike.” %%N %%NUnder the terms of the agreement, Pay By Touch expects to acquire all assets of BioPay, including its patent portfolio, and assume responsibility for its retail customers and enrolled members. %%N%%N“Our customers and members will be able to leverage more products and services for a well-rounded biometric payment solution that improves customer service, efficiency and sales,” said Tim Robinson, president of BioPay. %%N %%NPay By Touch expects to complete the acquisition within the next few weeks, subject to normal contractual closing conditions and regulatory approvals. %%N%%NAbout Pay By Touch %%NPay By Touch’s patented biometric payment products are free to consumers and enable shoppers to quickly and securely pay for purchases or cash checks using a finger scan linked to their personal identification information, financial accounts, and loyalty programs. Shoppers register once, and then can securely pay with a finger scan anywhere Pay By Touch is installed. The privately-held company offers retailers a complete payment solution, from front-end biometric authentication, age verification, and check cashing to payment processing merchant services for ACH (electronic check) and debit and credit card transactions. Pay By Touch’s biometric payment products enjoy the unique protection of more than two-dozen US-issued patents. For additional information, visit www.paybytouch.com . %%N%%NAbout BioPay %%NBioPay is installed coast to coast, serving a broad range of merchants from owner-operated single locations to larger chains most frequented by today's busy consumers, including grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, beverage stores and other lifestyle retailers. For more information, visit www.biopay.com .%%N%%NSource: Company Press Release

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Source: Company press release.