ATLANTA, March 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- InstaPay Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:IPYS) announced today that its Kryptosima subsidiary has certified and begun shipping a new PIN pad for use with its payENKRYPT(tm) service, which enables Internet merchants to accept ATM card payments. Because of the new PIN pad's lower cost and improved features, its availability is expected to significantly increase market opportunities for payENKRYPT(tm).
"Millions of Americans use their ATM card to make PIN-based purchases every week at grocery and retail stores. We believe that there is pent-up demand for the ability to make these same PIN-based payments on the Internet," stated Harry Hargens, President & CEO of InstaPay and its subsidiary Kryptosima. "Both consumers and merchants prefer this payment method. Consumers appreciate the security, while merchants benefit from reduced cost and fraud risk."
"ATM card transactions require that consumers enter their secret PIN number at a secure device, referred to as a PIN pad," Hargens adds. "The PIN pad then encrypts the data for secure transmission. payENKRYPT(tm) is the first service to support the use of PIN pads attached to consumers' PCs to enable ATM card payments to Internet merchants."
InstaPay expects Web merchants to deploy PIN pads to their best customers. "PIN pad cost is crucial in this model," Hargens points out. "The lower the cost, the more PIN pads merchants will deploy. Our cost for this new model is roughly half that of previous units, allowing us to offer them to merchants at aggressive prices. And while our initial sales focus is on the US market, we are pleased that some samples are already going to prospects in Canada and Europe."
Per Hargens, the units have already been well-proven, these are not preliminary models or prototypes. "We have been working for 12 months with Inventech, Inc., a Georgia corporation that specializes in the design and manufacture of point-of-sale equipment, to develop this device, but chose to keep things quiet until we were ready to go to production. First, specifications were jointly developed for a device that would be rugged and provide all needed functionality, while being as low cost as possible. Then a team of experienced engineers and programmers designed a device from the ground up to meet those requirements. Internal evaluation of samples began in November, and by early December we knew we had a winner. We recently began shipping samples to customers and prospects, and have scheduled a large production run for April.
"In addition to being lower cost, these units are smaller and more attractive than previous units, process transactions quicker, and are easier to install since they use a standard USB port.
"This is the latest in a series of steps that have slowly but surely positioned InstaPay/Kryptosima for profitable growth. Over the past year, we obtained a sponsor bank, certified with a major ATM network, went into production with the first Internet PIN debit transactions, began signing customers, and began licensing our technology outside the USA. We are optimistic that this latest step, the introduction of a new low-cost PIN pad, will help accelerate sales."
About InstaPay Systems Inc.
InstaPay's focus is on the implementation of new payment services, such as ATM card payments from home or office. For additional information, visit www.instapaysystems.com and www.kryptosima.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements about the company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.