ZAPA Technology Chooses ViVOtech to Provide Software Platform for NFC Mobile
Loyalty and Gift Card Services
ViVOtech's mLoyalty Software Makes Multiple Retailer Loyalty Programs
Available Through Single ZAPA TAG Affixed to Existing Mobile Phone
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- ViVOtech, a leading software
provider of Near Field Communications (NFC) mobile phone payments,
Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning of promotions and payment cards, mobile
loyalty and smart poster applications, announced today that its loyalty and
prepaid platform was chosen by ZAPA Technology for its mobile loyalty and gift
card processing services for European retailers. The loyalty or prepaid
accounts enabled by ViVOtech's mLoyalty platform and its secured contactless
technology will first reside on a ZAPA TAG sticker that can be placed inside
or outside an existing mobile phone. In the near future, customers will also
be able to use NFC-enabled mobile phones to download their account information
using ViVOtech Over-the-Air (OTA) provisioning software.
A primary innovation of the ZAPA Technology offered service is that a single
ZAPA TAG can function as a loyalty card for multiple retailers. This will
allow end users to benefit by no longer having to carry multiple retailer
loyalty cards or stamped paper points in their wallets. The multiple retailer
loyalty schemes are hosted centrally on ViVOtech's mLoyalty server software,
and easily managed by ZAPA Technology to offer exciting new services in the
future.
"ZAPA has chosen ViVOtech because of their experience in loyalty, contactless
and mobile technologies. Our goal is to provide exciting new services enabled
through real time and location based loyalty programs using NFC technologies",
said John Nagle, CEO of ZAPA Technology. "With the ability to support multiple
retailer programs in one ZAPA TAG, we expect to have great adoption for our
program."
To make loyalty or payment transactions, consumers simply tap the ZAPA TAG,
which is affixed to the back of the phone, against the ZAPA-branded
contactless payment reader at participating retailers. They can then earn
product-based loyalty, redeem coupons or collect loyalty points - all enabled
by ViVOtech's mLoyalty platform. ZAPA is launching these services by seeding
the POS infrastructure of strategic retailers and providing their customers
with its tags.
"New innovative mobile services such a ZAPA TAG are the main drivers why
retailers are expected to send mobile users over $3 billion worth of mobile
coupons by 2011 according to Juniper Research," said Michael Mullagh, CEO of
ViVOtech. "Targeted mobile loyalty programs using contactless and NFC mobile
phones can produce a much higher usage and redemption rate than paper-based
coupons, making it a much more powerful revenue growth tool for retailers."
The ZAPA system will also be available to retailers in the UK and continental
Europe, providing them with an alternative to in-house contactless loyalty
development. In addition to the mLoyalty platform, ZAPA Technology also uses
ViVOtech's ViVOpay contactless and NFC readers at leading brand name
retailers.
About ViVOtech
ViVOtech (www.vivotech.com) is the leading end to end enabler of next
generation mobile payments, loyalty, and marketing solutions. ViVOtech
provides Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payment solutions, mobile
marketing and loyalty applications software, Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning
infrastructure software, NFC smart posters, and contactless terminals.
ViVOtech's products are used by most prominent retailers all over the globe;
the company has shipped over 550,000 contactless and NFC payment terminals to
more than 35 countries. In 2009, ViVOtech received the prestigious Frost and
Sullivan North American Smart Cards Product Line Strategy of the Year Award.
ViVOtech's investors include Citi, First Data Corporation, Motorola Ventures,
NCR, and Nokia Growth Partners.
About ZAPA Technology
ZAPA Technology (www.ZAPAtechnology.com) has established itself as one of the
leading providers of managed NFC solutions in Europe. ZAPA Technology is at
the forefront of building the architecture required to establish an NFC
community in Europe, bringing together the hardware and software components
needed to deliver appealing, easy-to-use NFC services to the market.
ZAPA Technology is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The ZAPA Management Team
includes senior personnel from the European retail and online & mobile payment
and transaction processing industries, with vast experience in establishing
and managing loyalty, gift, prepayment and top up solution & services.
SOURCE ViVOtech
Kristin Miller of SS|PR, +1-719-634-8292, kmiller@sspr.com, for ViVOtech; or
Nuala Buttner of Q4 Public Relations, + 353 1 4751444, or + 353 85 1744275,
nuala@qrpr.ie, for ZAPA Technology
