sQuid Signs Ground-Breaking Agreement With Greater Manchester Transport Bosses
MANCHESTER, England--(Business Wire)-- sQuidcard, the eMoney payments system operator, and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), responsible for transport initiatives across one of the largest cities in the UK, have signed a contract to deliver a pre-paid transit smartcard service. The service, to be piloted in the district of Bolton, will enable holders of the local council's leisure smartcard to make journeys on bus services operated by Arriva Manchester, using a stored value purse delivered through sQuidcard. Additionally, the eMoney purse will allow customers to also use the smartcard for purchasing low-cost items such as newspapers, food and other convenience goods. As the only ITSO-compatible, low-cost eMoney network, the decision by the GMPTE to use sQuid as its travel settlement system is a significant achievement for the company and complements its recent tie-up with Bolton Council's Smartcard. Adam Smith, Managing Director of sQuid, said that the partnership with GMPTE is an important step in realising one of sQuid's objectives; to offer user-friendly eMoney solutions across Communities and in partnership with Transit Systems. "Our philosophy is to make electronic payments a flexible, responsive and cost-effective service for our customers, for merchants and for transport operators. This is something none of the banks or credit card networks is able to offer on the same scale as sQuid because our technology is unique and it sits outside the existing banking payment systems," he added. Smith also says that the partnership with GMPTE heralds an important step in the delivery of smartcard services across many such councils and transport authorities, particularly in the North and North West. Other similar announcements are expected in due course. About sQuid sQuidcard, a subsidiary of Nucleus Ltd, a leading brand, internet and venturing business, is set to become the leading alternative to the debit and credit card networks for sub GBP 10 tap-and-go transactions - a market forecast to grow rapidly, replacing some of the GBP 200bn sub-GBP 10 cash transactions made annually in the UK. sQuidcard has a multi-purse capability and is the only ITSO-compatible card that combines an eMoney purse. This enables the sQuidcard to be used as a pre-pay transit card and for low value purchases such as a newspaper, cup of coffee, sandwich etc. Armadillo Consulting Group for sQuid Lloyd Mullenger, 01763 248 820 Copyright Business Wire 2008
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