Pay By Touch Launches Next Phase in Payments Revolution
Announces $10 Million Financing and New Management Team of Industry Veterans
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 13-10-2003 --
Pay By Touch today announced completion
of a $10 million financing round and its new management team. The company
is initiating the next phase in bringing to market a new patented payment
system that allows consumers to pay at the checkout counter without having
to present credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, paper checks or cash.
The Pay By Touch™ payment authentication service allows consumers to
make purchases in one easy step by touching a finger image reader to access
their accounts electronically at the checkout counter. Payments are
authorized without consumers having to present tokens (e.g., credit cards,
RFID devices, Smart Cards, etc.), or reveal account numbers, signatures, or
drivers licenses, thus providing protection from identity theft and fraud
while speeding up checkout lanes. Unique algorithms created during
enrollment are matched during the payment process to ensure merchants and
payment processors of the consumer's identity.
Pay By Touch, formerly known as Solidus Networks, Inc., results from the
company's acquisition in April of Indivos Corp. Pay By Touch is building
products and services on a broad patent library that includes 22 issued and
13 pending patents covering tokenless, biometrically authenticated (any
type of biometrics) financial transactions, age verification and customer
loyalty applications. Pay By Touch has forged a business development
partnership with Accenture to facilitate rapid penetration of large
merchant accounts.
Among the investors of the just-closed $10 million financing are new CEO
Craig Ramsey and payment processing industry veteran Eula Adams, both of
whom have joined the board of directors. Ramsey was EVP of Worldwide Sales
at Siebel until 2001 and oversaw growth from $4 million in sales with
offices in 2 countries, to more than $1.5 billion in sales with offices in
over 30 countries around the world. He previously served in executive
roles at pre-IPO phases of Amdahl Corp. and Oracle Corp, where he ran the
United Sates sales organization.
"Pay By Touch will revolutionize the checkout lane much as ATM machines
revolutionized bank branch operations," Ramsey said. "Pay By Touch is the
easy, safe and secure way to pay, reducing consumer risks while allowing
merchants to speed up the purchasing process and reduce cash management and
transaction costs. We have pulled together a powerful team of industry
leaders to manage the company as well as esteemed directors who will help
guide the company to fulfill its potential."
Adams, formerly Senior Executive Vice-President of First Data Corporation,
was named in 2002 as one of the 50 "Most Powerful Black Executives" by
Fortune Magazine, which recognized his role in running the worldwide credit
card business for First Data Corp, a global leader in electronic payment
transactions. During his tenure at First Data, Mr. Adams served as
President of First Data Resources, the largest third party processor of
Visa and MasterCard credit, debit, and retail card accounts in the world,
President of First Data Merchant Services and earlier was Chief Operating
Officer of Western Union, which had been acquired by First Data Corp. Mr.
Adams has served on the Board of Directors of several companies, including
MasterCard International, Wells Fargo Merchant Services, and NYCE
Corporation.
Also elected to the board of directors was Robert Shaw, currently the
Chairman and CEO of ArcSight and previously CEO of Silicon Valley Internet
Capital (SVIC), CEO of USWeb/CKS until March 2000, when the company was
acquired for $3.3 billion by Whittman-Hart, Inc., and earlier Oracle Corp.
Executive Vice President in charge of the company's worldwide consulting
services and vertical markets. Prior to joining Oracle, Mr. Shaw was a
partner at Booz-Allen & Hamilton and at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Shaw is
a certified public accountant and serves on the board of directors of
Heidrick & Struggles International, Portera, Zero-Knowledge Systems, and
Website Pros.
Additionally, Pay By Touch announced its executive management team,
including:
John Rogers, President and Founder, and Chairman of the Board of Directors
John Rogers was founder and CEO of Rogers Development Corp., and previously
was COO of Daniels and LaBore. Prior to Daniels and LaBore, Mr. Rogers was
VP of Corporate Strategy at ION Corporation.
Brian Miller, EVP Strategic Alliances, and member of the Board of Directors
Brian Miller was a partner at Accenture where he worked for 28 years. At
Accenture, Mr. Miller conceived and helped build the CRM practice,
established Accenture alliances with Siebel, PeopleSoft and Blue Martini.
Mr. Miller was the Managing Partner of Accenture's Consumer Products/Retail
practice for the West Coast, and led the Silicon Valley Business Launch
Center.
Nhan Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer/Chief Information Officer
Nhan Nguyen was CTO of Yodlee (a financial account aggregation services
firm) before joining Pay By Touch. Prior to Yodlee, Mr. Nguyen was SVP,
Technology Operations at iPin (a Stored Value and payment transaction
management middleware company), and prior to iPin, Mr. Nguyen was SVP,
Enterprise Technology and Architecture of Bank of America. Prior to Bank
of America, Mr. Nguyen was Executive Director, World Bank Implementations
at TRW.
Eric Bachman, Chief Operating Officer
Eric Bachman was COO of NextBank prior to joining Pay By Touch. Prior to
NextBank, Mr. Bachman held SVP posts at BankServ and US Bank's Merchant
Card Services business. Prior to US Bank, Mr. Bachman worked at Wells
Fargo.
David Siminoff, CFO
David Siminoff was an analyst and portfolio manager for 10 years at Capital
Research, one of the world's largest investment companies. Prior to Capital
Research he was the founder of EastNet, a syndicate barter company in
Eastern Europe.
Caroline McNally, Chief Marketing Officer
Caroline McNally has 24 years of experience in brand marketing and
communications. She was EVP of global brand management for Visa
International, responsible for worldwide strategy leadership for the Visa
brand, one of the most recognized and leading brands in the world. Prior to
joining Visa, Ms. McNally was VP Marketing for MasterCard International in
New York. Also at MasterCard she served as Acting General Manager for
MasterCard's Europe, Middle East, Africa Region based in Paris. Ms. McNally
began her career at American Express where she held a variety of marketing
positions.
Steve Zelinger, General Counsel
Steve Zelinger brings 20 years of legal experience to Pay By Touch. Mr.
Zelinger served for four years as SVP and global director of litigation and
regulatory affairs of Visa International, after having been for seven years
a partner in the Washington, DC office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
Mr. Zelinger also served for five years in the U.S. Department of Justice
in Washington, DC, and has worked for a variety of law firms in the U.S.
and abroad.
Jon S. Siegal, Vice President Sales, Americas
Jon Siegal has over 15 years of sales and sales management experience.
Prior to Pay By Touch, Mr. Siegal held the position of Vice President,
Worldwide Sales responsible for Siebel's fastest growing product line. Mr.
Siegal joined Siebel Systems in 1997, where he was consistently recognized
as one of the top contributors to the company's growth from $40M to $2B in
annual revenue. Mr. Siegal began his career in 1988 at IBM Corporation
where he was responsible for sales to the Media and Entertainment
Industries.
Pay By Touch is the premier provider of tokenless biometric authentication
at the point of sale, offering retailers an efficient and low cost
alternative to current payment processing options. Pay by Touch™, the
Company's branded, patented biometric authentication product, allows
consumers to pay for purchases in one easy step by using finger imaging to
link them to their payment accounts without having to present credit cards,
debit cards, loyalty cards, paper checks or cash. The company's products
and services are based on 22 issued and 13 pending patents that cover
tokenless, biometrically authenticated financial transactions and customer
loyalty applications.
Contacts:
Pete Bartolik
508-259-2108
pete@bartolik.com
Caroline McNally
650-333-2990
caroline.mcnally@paybytouch.com
