Highlights / Key Facts:

Now, iPhone users have a fully secure, proven and easy-to-use mobile payments service available at their fingertips. Recently named Technology Pioneer 2010 by the World Economic Forum, Obopay is an innovative mobile payments service provider in the U.S. as well as international markets. Obopay has established partnerships with companies such as Nokia, MasterCard, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Obopay iPhone application features include:

• Send money to anyone with a US phone number

• Send money to your kids or anyone 13 years of age or older and track how they spend the money all from your iPhone

• View full transaction history from anywhere

• Receive money free of charge regardless of how many people send you money or the amount you receive

• Set up your account to automatically deposit the funds that you receive into your own bank account without having to manually intervene

• Request money from contacts

• Receive a Push Notification when you get a request for money

• Check the status of a request anytime, from anywhere

Some of the more popular uses of Obopay include:

• Parents sending money to children: Parents can instantly send money to their teens – or any family member – using Obopay on the iPhone.
  • Obopay is a unique application in the App Store that allows parents to set up controlled accounts for their children and see at a glance where the kids are spending the money, schedule recurring “allowance” payments into the account and send emergency money to family members. It also prevents the danger of children incurring overdraft penalties or interest charges or potentially damaging their parents’ credit.
  • Teens receive a prepaid card with their name embossed on the card and immediately can access the received money at any ATM or merchant location which accepts cards.

• Splitting the bill: One no longer needs to worry about friends not having exact cash at dinner when splitting the bill, because they can pay you back on the spot with Obopay.
• Small and medium-sized merchants: Small and medium-sized merchants such as gardeners, babysitters, contractors and online merchants now can be paid instantly through a secure environment creating efficiencies and greater convenience.
• Obopay leverages Apple’s iPhone OS platform and alerting capabilities by giving users comfort that their payment was successfully sent and received.
• Obopay offers a companion MasterCard prepaid card, thus enabling iPhone users to have up-to-the minute awareness of their available balance and recent transactions.
• It’s free to download Obopay to your mobile phone, sign up for the service, access your account information as well as receive money. Sending money costs as little as $0.25 per transaction.

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Margento will bring its proven transaction platform to the 50-50 joint venture, as well as its patented Data-Over-Voice (DOV) technology, while arvato services will invest in the JV and contribute its extensive expertise in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Finance services.

“We are excited about opening up the German market for mobile transaction services with arvato as our partner,” said Margento CEO Gregor Breznik. arvato services’ managing director Mario Schwegler added: “The JV’s balanced mix of expertise in services and technology forms an outstanding basis for a nationwide implementation of mobile loyalty and payment services in Germany.”

Margento’s innovative technology turns mobile phones into a convenient, secure tool for payments and other transactions. Customers can use their mobiles to collect and redeem bonus points, pay for products and services, top up the balance on pre-paid phone accounts, redeem coupons, use mobile tickets, and buy and send electronic gift vouchers – all via a single terminal at POS.

In addition to this rich functionality, Margento’s technology boasts other key benefits: it guarantees the highest security standards, it is mature and has already been proven in actual use, and unlike the much-hyped NFC technology, it works with all mobiles, by all manufacturers, without the need for additional hard- or software. Besides, as Breznik points out, it is incredibly easy to use: “With our DOV technology, any mobile phone is immediately ready to go, without the need for further modification. Customers don’t have to write a text, access a browser or open complicated applications. They just make a phone-call.”

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According to the company, “Nokia Money has been designed to be as simple and convenient as making a voice call or sending an SMS. It will enable consumers to send money to another person just by using the person’s mobile phone number, as well as to pay merchants for goods and services, pay their utility bills, or recharge their prepaid SIM cards (SIM top-up). The services can be accessed 24 hours a day from anywhere, meaning savings in travel costs and time. Nokia is building a wide network of Nokia Money agents, where consumers can deposit money in or withdraw cash from their accounts.”

“We believe mobile financial services offer a market opportunity with long term growth potential. In many countries, mobile phone ownership significantly exceeds bank account usage, suggesting that many mobile phone users have very limited or no access to basic financial services. With more than 4 billion mobile phone users and only 1.6 billion bank accounts, global demand for access to financial services presents a strong opportunity to combine mobile devices with simple but powerful financial services such as Nokia Money,” said Mary McDowell, EVP and Chief Development Officer, Nokia.

Mobile payments will be the next step for delivering financial services to hundreds of millions of people, both urban and rural, who are underserved by existing payment means, especially in emerging economies.

“Rural consumers will particularly benefit from money transfers and, for urban consumers used to online services, we are enabling services such as payment of utility bills, purchase of train and movie tickets, top-ups, all through their mobile phones. Nokia Money is simple to use, secure and available across different operator networks and on virtually any mobile phone. This means millions of new consumers will soon be able to manage all their financial needs from their mobile phone,” said Teppo Paavola, VP and Head of Corporate Business Development, Nokia.

The Nokia Money service will be operated in cooperation with Obopay, a leader in developing global mobile payment solutions, which Nokia invested in earlier this year. The service is based on Obopay’s mobile payment platform, with unique and newly developed mobile elements. Nokia intends the service to be open and interoperable with other payment services as well.

“Obopay shares Nokia’s vision for bringing mobile financial services to millions of people worldwide. We’re excited that Nokia has chosen Obopay’s platform. Nokia’s leading market position, strong brand recognition and global distribution channel, using the Obopay platform with uniquely developed mobile elements, means the Nokia Money service is well positioned to bring the next generation of mobile payment services to the world,” said Carol Realini, Founder and CEO of Obopay.

Nokia Money is the result of a powerful collaboration Nokia is forging between different partners in different markets around the world. It is designed to work in partnership with mobile network operators and financial institutions, involving distributors and merchants in a dynamic ecosystem to seamlessly provide the new services.

“As a result of the innovative partnerships and comprehensive ecosystem we are forging with the banking and financial industry, as well as leading network operators, we believe Nokia Money will bring financial inclusion to many who currently have limited or no access to financial services. Uniting the strengths of the mobile and financial services industries will change the way people around the world can manage their money in the future,” added McDowell.

“Mobile financial services present a high growth sector for Nokia. Nokia’s asset strengths, including consumer brand awareness, distribution capabilities and global relationships should serve as logical and necessary extensions to drive innovation in the mobile payments and banking sector. To be successful Nokia must provide a legitimate bridge between operators, banks networks and security infrastructure in order to unlock the broad uptake of mobile financial services,” said Bob Egan, Global Head of Research and Chief Analyst, Towergroup.

The Nokia Money service will be shown for the first time at Nokia World on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany, and it is planned to be rolled out gradually to selected markets, beginning in early 2010.

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