Motorola, VeriFone, National Data Corporation -NDC- Subsidiary Global Payment Systems and American Mobile Deliver Wireless Credit Card Transaction Solution at Motorola Western Open

Business Wire, June 19, 1998

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 1998--

Western Open First in Series of Nationwide Wireless Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale (EFTPOS) Pilot Programs

Motorola, VeriFone, NDC subsidiary Global Payment Systems and American Mobile today announced they will provide a wireless Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale (EFTPOS) solution for merchandise sales at the Motorola Western Open, June 22-28. The solution will enable credit card transactions to be processed and verified wirelessly from five locations throughout the golf course, eliminating the more time consuming and costly wireline solution used previously.

VeriFone point-of-sale terminals will be deployed around the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, the Lemont, Ill. Western Open site. The terminals will process and verify credit card transactions using a Global Payment Systems retail payment application, enabling the use of multiple brands of credit cards for consumer purchases of souvenir items. Theterminals will transmit to and receive transaction data from Global Payment Systems via Motorola Series 500 Integrated Wireless Modems over American Mobile's ARDIS two-way, nationwide data network. ARDIS uses a DataTAC(R) system from Motorola. The wireless solution eliminates the installation cost of dedicated telephone lines, while delivering a six-to-ten second transaction that is acceptable for this type of application.

"The Western Open and the other U.S. pilot programs are a significant step in our alliance with VeriFone to deliver end-to-end wireless payment solutions on our DataTAC systems worldwide," said Mark Stair, general manager, Motorola Data Subscriber Products Division. "This solution enables us to serve increasing worldwide demand for transaction processing, either where landline infrastructure is not available, as a cost-effective wireline replacement or as an efficiency tool for mobile services."

Greg Rhine, VeriFone vice president, North American financial Retail Systems and Software Organization said, "We are pleased that Motorola has integrated our VeriFone transaction terminal into a wireless application. This solution enables convenience for merchants in remote environments. It also provides an opportunity for merchants that do not have access to a phone line to take advantage of the speed and flexibility a wireless solution offers for processing credit transactions."

"Wirelessly extending their point of sale systems enables merchants to improve their bottom lines by providing service where and when their customers need it," said Mike McGee, vice president of marketing, American Mobile. "Wireless data is not only cost-effective but also faster than dial-up phone line financial processing, critical for high-volume businesses such as the Western Open. By working together, American Mobile, Motorola, VeriFone and Global Payment Systems are providing merchants across the country with a compelling competitive advantage."

David K. Hunt, president and CEO of Global said, "We see wireless communications significantly penetrating markets where traditional telephone access is impractical or unavailable. The response from our pilot merchants to date has been very positive and confirms our belief in the need for this service for electronic payments."

Wireless EFTPOS delivers a flexible, cost-effective solution to merchants such as Cog Hill that sell clothing and accessories in a mobile retail environment. By offering wireless transactions, customer service at the point of sale is enhanced. For merchants in a variety of settings, offering credit and debit as a payment option increases customer convenience. In addition, wireless EFTPOS, because of the speed of transactions, enables greater transaction volume and throughput.

In addition to the Western Open, the companies are working together on nationwide wireless EFTPOS pilots in other industries, including taxi cab, limousine service and tow-truck businesses in the Midwest, and itinerant merchant businesses on the West Coast and in Alaska.

For mobile services such as taxi cab, limousine and tow-truck businesses, a wireless EFTPOS solution enables drivers to immediately transmit customer credit information from the vehicle. Using wireless data provides more secure authorization than voice radio, increases safety for drivers who need to carry less cash and enhances convenience for both parties with additional payment options and quicker processing. Other markets in which a portable, wireless EFTPOS solution can improve customer service and transaction volume include restaurants, independent sales and home repair businesses.

American Mobile Satellite Corporation

American Mobile (www.AmMobile.com) owns and operates an integrated terrestrial/satellite network and provides a wide range of mobile communication services, including digital voice dispatch, data communications, dual-mode mobile messaging, position reporting services, and satellite telephone to the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and hundreds of miles of U.S. coastal waters. American Mobile services are used in the transportation, field service, maritime, two-way messaging and telemetry markets. The company's major shareholders include Hughes Communications Inc., Motorola, Inc., Singapore Telecom, and AT&T Wireless Services.