InfoSpace Buys ECash Technologies

R. A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Tue Feb 26 13:40:00 EST 2002


...and the music plays one more time, with one less chair...

Cheers,
RAH

--- begin forwarded text


Status:  U
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 10:30:02 -0800
Subject: Don't know how you missed this one ;-)
From: Somebody
To: R. Hettinga <rah at shipwright.com>

 http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cnn-storydisplay.cgi?story=/www/bw/webbox/bw.021902/220500186.htm&textcolor=%23000000&linkcolor=000099&vlinkcolor=purple&pre=0&strip=1&nohrule=1&notimestamp=1&noeditor=0&nocontact=0&nobackground=1&story_textcolor=%23000000&story_linkcolor=000099&header=%2Fwww%2Fbw%2Finsp%2Finsp_storyheader.shtml&footer=%2Fwww%2Fbw%2Finsp%2Finsp_storyfooter.shtml&bgcolor=%23343399

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2002--

    With acquisition of eCash Technologies' assets, InfoSpace plans to
    bring merchants and financial institutions secure e-debit card
    processing and online and off-line stored value services such as
    pre-paid cards, loyalty programs and gift certificates

    InfoSpace, Inc. (Nasdaq:INSP), a provider of wireless and Internet
software and application services, today announced that the Company has
acquired substantially all of the technology and intellectual property of
eCash Technologies, Inc. which include electronic debit and stored value
transaction technologies.
    Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
    These innovative technologies are built on an intellectual property
portfolio of more than 20 patents issued in the US and overseas. InfoSpace
plans to offer merchants additional payment mechanisms that are expected to
reduce processing costs, while providing exciting opportunities for
merchants to drive new revenue streams and strengthen their relationships
with valued customers.
    InfoSpace plans to add electronic debit functionality to its existing
credit card and electronic-check processing services that would give
merchants the ability to accept debit card payments. Through advanced
encryption and digital signature technology, the debit solution is being
designed to be able to authenticate the consumer and merchant, and
authorize the payment via secure protocols developed by leading debit card
associations. In addition, the solution is being designed to provide
consumer identification and real-time verification of funds, allowing
merchants to enjoy the equivalent of a "card present" transaction without
certain of the fraud and charge-back concerns of "card not present"
payments.
    In addition, InfoSpace plans to offer merchants stored value coupon,
incentive, loyalty and promotion services that can be redeemed both online
and offline. Stored value programs can be used in a variety of ways by
merchants to lower costs and build customer loyalty. These programs allow
cash, points, etc. to be placed on a physical card or in an online account
that can be redeemed for goods and services at the point of sale by the
customer. For merchants with existing paper-based loyalty programs such as
pre-paid cards and gift certificates, InfoSpace plans to develop these new
technologies to extend these programs into the online world, enabling these
programs to be redeemed interchangeably online and offline.
    InfoSpace plans to offer these services to its broad network of
merchant resellers including leading financial institutions and other
merchant service providers.
    In the fourth quarter of 2001, InfoSpace Merchant services processed
more than $1 billion in transactions, up from $700 million reported in the
previous quarter. The total number of transactions processed was more than
12 million, up from 9 million reported in the third quarter.
    "Merchants today want innovative payment solutions giving them higher
cost savings and increased fraud protection for both online and offline
transactions. In addition, consumers want secure and convenient payment
solutions that can be used both online and offline," said Prakash
Kondepudi, InfoSpace executive vice president, merchant. "The acquisition
of innovative technologies from eCash will enhance our payment technologies
offered through leading merchant service providers and financial
institutions with stored value payment services that address the needs of
today's merchant businesses."

    About InfoSpace, Inc.

    InfoSpace, Inc. (Nasdaq:INSP) provides wireless and Internet software
and application services. The Company develops software technologies that
enable customers to efficiently offer a broad array of network-based
services under their own brand to any device.

    This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the
development of InfoSpace, Inc.'s products and services and future operating
results, including statements regarding InfoSpace's purchase of assets from
eCash Technologies, Inc., that are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate,"
variations of such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not
forward-looking. These statements are not guarantees of future performance
and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are
difficult to predict. Factors that could affect InfoSpace's actual results
include the progress and costs of the development of our products and
services and the timing of market acceptance of those products and
services. A more detailed description of certain factors that could affect
actual results include, but are not limited to, those discussed in
InfoSpace's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the section entitled "Factors
Affecting Our Operating Results, Business Prospects and Market Price of
Stock." Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or
circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence
of unanticipated events.


    --30--cla/se*

    CONTACT: InfoSpace, Inc.
             Adam Whinston, 425/201-8946
             adam.whinston at infospace.com

    KEYWORD: WASHINGTON
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: E-COMMERCE INTERNET NETWORKING SOFTWARE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS MERGERS/ACQ
    SOURCE: InfoSpace, Inc.

--- end forwarded text


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at wasabisystems.com



More information about the cryptography mailing list