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Postbank, part of the ING Group, selects The Macalla Mobility Platform(tm) to deliver Europe's Largest Mobile Banking and Prepaid Top-up Service to its Retail Clients Innovative agreement between Postbank and mobile operator Telfort to provide an initial five hundred thousand customers with pre-paid mobile phones Dublin, 14th June 2001; Macalla Software, Europes leading mobile eCommerce platform provider (http://www.macalla.com), today announced that Postbank Nederland, one of the Netherlands largest retail banks with more than seven million customers, is using The Macalla Mobility Platform(TM) (Mobility) to deliver its next generation mobile banking service. The mobile banking service, promotion of which commenced in May 2001, is due to go live in June 2001 with an initial 500,000 users. As part of the service, Postbank and Telfort are offering their customers a free, pre-configured Siemens M35i Internet enabled phone. The mobile banking service provides customers with mobile access to Postbanks retail banking services, mobile operator Telforts pre-paid call credit top-up facilities, and mobile services from Genie, BTs mobile Internet portal. The banks existing Internet banking facilities are currently used by more than one million of its customers. The service combines both SMS messaging and WAP. WAP is being used to deliver secure interactive banking services in order to pay bills, transfer funds, check account balances and stock information - through a pre-configured mobile phone linking them to Postbanks services. Later this year these services will be quickly extended and will include stock trading. SMS is being used to trigger and fulfil call credit prepaid top-up. For example; a customer is alerted by Telfort that their call credit is depleting towards a pre-defined threshold, using the hot button facility on the pre-configured mobile phone the customer inputs the amount by which to increase the call credit. An encrypted SMS message is automatically triggered and The Macalla Mobility Platform then launches a series of secure instructions between Postbanks and Telforts enterprise systems, authenticating the customer within Postbank and Telfort, verifying the customer has sufficient funds, debiting the customers bank account, and crediting the customers account within Telfort, thereby completing the call credit top-up. For ease of use, customers can use the same M-code (PIN number) for login, authorisation and call credit top-up. A combination of CMG Finance BV, a leading European systems integrator and partner of Macalla in the Netherlands, and Telfort, the mobile operator through which the service is being provided, are working closely with Postbank Nederland and Macalla Software on the project. According to Mr. Ludo Wijngaarden, Chairman of the Board, Postbank, Postbank has always been committed to delivering home banking services. This way of banking characterises itself by providing greater independence, allowing customers to make choices as to how to handle their financial affairs. Postbank uses a broad multi-distribution strategy in which the Internet, as a distribution channel, figures largely. Handling financial business through the Internet has been possible for a while, but now Postbank and Telfort are introducing m-banking - making transactions visible on the display of a special WAP telephone. CMGs associate director Peter Mondeel, who is responsible for Mobile Financial Solutions in the Netherlands said, The mobile solution developed for Postbank could only have been delivered within this short period of time as a result of combining The Macalla Mobility Platform from Macalla software, the knowledge and integration services of CMG and the full cooperation of Telfort, Genie and Postbank. The Macalla Mobility Platform also gives Postbank the opportunity to quickly add new services and channels. The strength and success of this project can be clearly attributed to the close collaboration of the companies involved. Commenting on the contract, Niall OCleirigh, CEO, Macalla Software said, In line with Postbanks strategy, The Macalla Mobility Platform is providing an end-to-end future proof solution ensuring seamless interoperability between the banks and the telcos enterprise systems. Our platform is equipped to support the introduction of new networks, protocols, devices and channels such as 3G, GPRS, iDTV and IVR. Press queries to: Simpson FT PR (Macalla PR Agency) Postbank NV Telfort CMG Finance BV About Macalla Software Macallas flagship software product, The Macalla Mobility Platform (Mobility), provides a next-generation software platform for the sourcing and consistent delivery of transactional and payment services across Wireless, Internet, Voice and Interactive Digital TV channels. Mobility provides multi device, channel and protocol support, including support for PDAs, pocket PCs, SMS, WAP phones, I-Mode phones, GPRS and 3-G devices, Pagers, PC browsers, IDTV set-top boxes. Mobility leverages Macallas core XML, Java, Internet technologies and professional services capabilities, thus providing a secure, scalable and consistent mobile eCommerce platform. Macalla Software, founded in 1998 and based in Dublin, was recently named as Europes number one wireless technology provider. Macalla conducts its business globally via offices in London, New York, Madrid and Frankfurt, as well as through an extensive partner network around the world. Alliances include Baltimore Technologies, BEA, CMG, eServ, IBM, KPMG, Nokia, Openwave, Sun and Reuters. Macallas customers globally include retail banks, investment banks, broker firms and telecoms companies. http://www.macalla.com About Postbank About CMG Finance BV Established in 1964, CMG is headquartered in London and Hoofddorp (near Amsterdam) and now implements and supports applications for customers worldwide from bases in 16 countries. CMG has proven knowledge, solutions and products across a wide spectrum of markets, including finance, transport, telecommunications, media, petrochemicals, utilities, retail, manufacturing and governments. The Group also provides long term management of business processes ranging from payroll, call centres and networks to infrastructure management, application maintenance and hosting services. CMG Wireless Data Solutions has established a leading position in wireless messaging and gateway products, mobile Internet and e-mail, cell broadcast and customer care & billing systems. These products are provided to mobile telecommunication operators and service providers worldwide from offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. They also underpin the Groups ability to advise organisations on mCommerce strategies and implement them effectively. CMG works alongside its customers in long term relationships to generate success for them. Through the quality of its services, products and professionally committed people, CMG adds value to its customers businesses. This creates a basis for the Groups sustained success. About Telfort About Genie
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Copyright � 2001, Wireless Application Protocol Forum Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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