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Contactless Data Adds Two New Applications to Its Porfolio

Tucson, Arizona - October 29, 2009 - Contactless Data, a leader in NFC-based solutions announces that it has completed beta versions of two new applications named Xalis and Ugicare addressing respectively the payment and healthcare NFC market segments.

For its payment solution, Contactless Data has developed Xalis, a contactless micropayment and remittance system allowing consumers and merchants to transact instantly and cost-effectively. Xalis, which means money in various West-African languages, is sought to be a disruptive digital currency technology especially for developing countries where the banked population is still very low and the penetration rate of mobile phones is incredibly high. "We had long hours of brainstorming sessions where we analyzed the high costs related to processing payments or sending money", said Ismaila Wane, President and CTO of Contactless Data, Inc. "Merchants are still complaining about the high interchange and assessment fees they are paying to banks and card networks; and consumers, mainly individuals sending money to other parts of the world such as Africa and South America have no real alternatives to expensive money transfer systems such as Western Union", he added.

For its healthcare solution, Contactless Data has developed Ugicare, an electronic marketplace enabling patients, providers and payers to interact with each others more conveniently, securely and efficiently. Ugicare is a contraction of the Greek word Ugitha for health, and the English word Care. The service intends to contribute to the healthcare debate in the US where major IT reforms are being planned. Mr. Wane hinted that the idea for Ugicare originated on 9/9/2009 during President Obama's televised health care address before the US Congress. Contactless Data counts amongst its early angel investors active and retired physicians in the Chicago metropolitan area.

There is a lot of excitement in the NFC space. However, issues about business models between banks and wireless carriers have been reported to be the cause for delaying the massive commercial rollout of NFC-enabled mobile phones by handset manufacturers. Meanwhile, Contactless Data is promoting commercially available low-cost stickers and USB flash drives equipped with NFC technnology to early adopters.

Contactless Data will initially demonstrate its solutions at a local event next week before presenting at domestic and international industry conferences and trade shows.

Xalis and Ugicare are both service marks of Contactless Data, and their underlying technology is patent-pending.