BILL.L Regulatory News (BILL)

12 Mar 2007 07:05

Billing Services Group Limited12 March 2007 NEWS RELEASE Contacts:Erin Brennan GilmoreBlanc & Otus Public Relations+1 512 466 4559ebgilmore@blancandotus.com Julian WalkerThe Hogarth Partnership - Investor relations+44 (0)20 7645 3988jwalker@hogarthpr.co.uk BSG Clearing Solutions Launches Bill2Phone(TM), Revenue Optimization for Digital Content Merchants Bill2Phone(TM) provides a fast, secure telephone bill payment alternative with new purchasing demographic for online merchants SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - March 12, 2007 - BSG Clearing Solutions, (BSG), the telecomindustry's leading clearing and settlement provider, today announced theavailability of Bill2Phone(TM), a real-time payment solution that offers onlinemerchants, content aggregators and e-wallet providers the ability to processelectronic payments to consumers' local telephone bill. Bill2Phone(TM) includesrisk management, advanced transactional and settlements reporting, recurringpayments and a virtual terminal. Since its availability on January 15, 2007, BSGhas closed five new Bill2Phone(TM) customer contracts. With over 1,400 LEC billing partnerships, BSG's Bill2Phone(TM) gives merchantsexpanded consumer reach with access to over 140 million local telephone bills.Online merchants will also be able to expand their customer reach demographicsby providing Bill2Phone(TM) to new consumers that don't have, can't have, ordon't use credit cards. This new demographic allows merchants to optimize theirrevenue through consumer expansion. "BSG has taken a leadership position by working very closely with the LECcommunity and online merchants to ensure Bill2Phone(TM) provides the industry'smost secure, convenient telephone billing payment option," commented GregCarter, President of BSG Clearing Solutions North America, LLC. "With creditcard-like, web service interfaces and competitive prices, merchants can noweasily add this unique payment solution to their shopping carts, thereby openingup new customer demographics, realizing purchasing uplift, and providing a worldclass buying experience." According to the Yankee Group, 40% of the population using the Internet does nothave credit cards, and in a study conducted by Internet Retailer, 78% ofconsumers said "they would be more inclined to purchase online if given a safer,more convenient payment method than a credit card." Not only can the Bill2Phone(TM) increase customer satisfaction by offering a safer alternative, but it canalso reduce checkout abandonment for the merchants by offering a non-credit cardpayment solution. As part of BSG's Advanced Payment Gateway (APG(TM)), Bill2Phone(TM) shares thesame high-availability architecture and PCI compliance features of BSG's creditcard processing and acquiring solutions. The feature set is designed to make iteasier for merchants to accept multiple payment options and use a singlepayments processor for Terminal Services, Real-Time and Batch Processing,Reporting, Recurring Billing, Risk Management and more. Bill2Phone(TM) featuresinclude: • E-Statements: Emailed statements of all purchases made in a given day helps the consumer accurately keep track of spending on the telephone bill • E-Mail Purchase Confirmations: Available to merchants who would like their customers to receive a confirmation of goods just purchased • Virtual Terminal: Allows merchants to enter or modify a single transaction on behalf of the user • Recurring Payments: Allows merchants to set up a recurring charge for a consumer with appropriate notifications • URU(TM) Authentication Services: Verifies that a consumer is who they say they are and are authorized to purchase • WebTrack(TM) Reporting: Includes reports for full transaction life cycle management and settlement positions to properly manage the merchant's business • Real-Time and Batch Interfaces: Common unified interfaces between all payment types in near real-time or batch to simplify usage and match merchant requirements. APIs are available for recurring billing or single transactions • Risk Management Solutions: Optional fraud management controls, analysis and models to maximize profits and reduce risk Bill2Phone(TM) also includes BSG's URU(TM), from its Risk Management solutions.BSG's fraud solutions can provide the following: Balance ManagementAuthorizations, Real-time Authentications using any of the following databases:(LEC databases, credit bureaus), LEC specific authorization types likeBillBlock, the largest phone number-based negatives database, fraud monitoringwith advanced heuristics and merchant specific transaction analytic modeling. About BSG Clearing SolutionsBSG Clearing Solutions is a leading global provider of clearing and settlement,payment services, and financial risk management solutions for communicationsservice providers. The company processes over 20 billion transactions annuallyfor 750 of the world's largest communications companies throughout NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia. With a ubiquitous, scalable platform and an extensiveportfolio of clearinghouse services for fixed-line, wireless, Wi-Fi, andbroadband networks, BSG monetizes network transactions by facilitating thefinancial exchange of its customers' services. BSG meets the needs of today'scomplex network interconnections and anticipates the requirements of convergingtechnologies, allowing for rapid and reliable deployment. BSG Clearing Solutionsis an operating subsidiary of Billing Services Group Limited, which is publiclytraded on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) under the ticker symbol BILL. For moreinformation, visit www.bsgclearing.com. xxx This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange