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Retail Decisions Works with Mi-Pay to Deliver Pre-Pay Top-Up to Mobile Operators
[May 04, 2005]

Retail Decisions Works with Mi-Pay to Deliver Pre-Pay Top-Up to Mobile Operators


PALO ALTO, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Retail Decisions plc , owner of Retail Decisions, Inc. (ReD USA), announced April 11, 2005 a broadening of its services in the telecommunications and mobile sector and its investment and partnership with Mi-Pay Ltd, a micropayments and mobile pre-pay solution provider.


Mobile operators currently use a variety of methods for customers to top- up their mobile phones. These methods include calling the mobile network operator, through the Internet and at the point of sale. Mobile network operators are now aiming for 40 per cent of top-up transactions to be performed directly via the handset by the end of 2007.
Recognizing this emerging technological development, in 2004, ReD made a 20% equity investment in Mi-Pay whose service portfolio allows mobile phone users to top-up directly through the handset, making payments easier.
In addition, ReD is also partnering with Mi-Pay by providing its payment gateway and card fraud prevention services to Mi-Pay's customers.
ReD is already the largest processor of pre-pay mobile transactions in the UK through card-not-present channels. ReD's mobile telecoms clients include: T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and O2 amongst others. In Western Europe alone, the pre-paid mobile top-up market is valued at around Euro 30 billion. There are 200 million mobile handsets in use in Europe and on average each user makes 10 top-up payments per annum, giving a total of 2 billion transactions per annum.
Established in 2003, Mi-Pay delivers mobile network operators with significant cost reductions for pre-paid services such as mobile top-up and e- money account re-charging, and as such makes these services financially viable. The company has recently won a contract with Telfort one of the largest mobile operators in the Netherlands.
Mi-Pay is led by Norman Frankel, who was formerly the Mobile Commerce Director of LogicaCMG. Prior to that Norman was Group Head of New Media at NatWest.
Chief Executive of Retail Decisions plc, Carl Clump, said:
"We are delighted to have invested in Mi-Pay as a strategic partner in this important growth sector. It is clear to us that mobile payments are the next revolution in the payments market and our partnership with Mi-Pay gives us access to their in-depth understanding of that market plus a new and growing revenue line".
Managing Director of Mi-Pay, Norman Frankel, added:
"Mobile network operators, looking at ways to reduce costs and direct customers to easier payment channels, are now prompting the evolution of the third generation of the pre-paid top-up. Until now the mobile payment option has been too expensive, but with the Mi-Pay solution it is finally viable. It is a major coup for us to have the support of ReD's leading payment processing and card fraud prevention capabilities as well as their global expertise which will significantly strengthen our proposition."
About Retail Decisions
The Retail Decisions Group is an international electronic payment transaction services business that provides fraud prevention, enterprise-wide payment processing and value-added transaction and consulting services to the retail, finance, telecommunications and e-commerce sectors. ReD is able to predict and prevent payment card fraud, process high volumes of credit card and electronic check transactions and has a platform for a full range of transaction based value-added services.
ReD has more than 17 years experience in payment card risk management and processing services with operations in the United States, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
Retail Decisions, Inc. is a subsidiary of Retail Decisions plc.
Retail Decisions plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange . For more information regarding Retail Decisions, visit http://www.redplc.com/ or http://www.red-usa.com/.
Enquiries:

Retail Decisions plc +44 1483 728 700
Carl Clump, CEO
Retail Decisions Inc. (ReD USA) +1 650 353 4990
Xavier Kris, CEO


Horn Group, Inc. +1 415 905 4012
Meghan Butler


Mi-Pay Ltd
Norman Frankel, Managing Director +44 1483 794930

Companycare Communications +44 118 9395900
Gary Marshall

Notes to Editors
ABOUT MI-PAY

Mi-Pay is an experienced business process outsourcer in the rapidly growing 'direct' mobile prepaid top-up channel, e-money stored value, transport and WIFI markets. Mi-Pay is already working internationally with mobile operators and e-money providers and is delivering on its promises in groundbreaking market sectors.
The company's key strengths are its incredibly experienced management team and its partnerships with established leaders in the industries that converge to create the prepaid, e-money and m-payments markets.
The unbeatable cost savings Mi-Pay offers its customers are just that -- unbeatable. Why? Because only Mi-Pay has the relevant knowledge, capability and experience of business process engineering to deliver these savings.
Using these assets Mi-Pay provides top-up services for mobile pre-paid, Internet web-cash, pre-paid transport, WIFI and e-money stored value providers; roaming recharge services; transactional marketing services including pre-paid loyalty and bonus management, and business process outsourcing for the customer not present, prepaid, low-value and mobile initiated payment market.
Retail Decisions plc


CONTACT: Carl Clump, CEO of Retail Decisions plc, +44-1483-728-700; orXavier Kris, CEO of Retail Decisions Inc. (ReD USA), +1-650-353-4990; orMeghan Butler of Horn Group, Inc., +1-415-905-4012; or Norman Frankel,Managing Director of Mi-Pay Ltd, +44-1483-794930; or Gary Marshall ofCompanycare Communications, +44-118-9395900


Web site: http://www.red-usa.com/

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