WISeKey Announces the Development of a Mobile Payment Telco Platform as a new Commitment for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
New York, USA and Geneva, Switzerland (ots)
WISeKey today announced a new commitment with the initial focus to target over 100 million people in the Mediterranean region still unbanked but already connected via voice with their mobiles phones. WISeKey will provide the trusted, secure and interoperable m-payments technology required to operate a Mobile Payment Telco Platform in selected geographical areas in partnership with financial institutions, telecommunications and technology companies in the region.
"It is our hope that the impact of this commitment will extend to reach 100 million disadvantaged people in 25 countries primarily in the Mediterranean Region, including Africa during its first phase. Deploying the platform in cooperation with Telcos will enable us to reach the unbanked base of the pyramid consumers. For this commitment we are mainly cooperating with Telcos using our technology to adapt with technology that allows the mobile phone to be used as a financial tool," said Carlos Moreira, CEO of WISeKey.
M-Payments are emerging as an important link that could bring the most basic financial services to billions of unbanked cell phone users around the world. Bringing the unbanked into the formal economy and allowing them to use their mobile phone as identification and payment devices is a key element of this commitment. Interestingly, a full 1 billion of the 5 billion mobile phone owners have no access to financial services despite having the technological possibility of activating this service.
In order to materialize this commitment, WISeKey has been a key proponent for the realization of the Summit of Local Mediterranean Cities and Governments to be held in Malaga, Spain on the 3rd of October, to which the Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has invited leaders of the Mediterranean Region and Europe. For more information on this commitment: http://www.wisekey.com
As one of the first steps of this initiative, actor Antonio Banderas will be the First Mediterranean Citizen in one of the most ambitious projects of the Digital Mediterranean Space Summit: to create a community of 150 million citizens online. The "I am Mediterranean" Project will provide access to all citizens of the region from its hub in Malaga to a wide variety of citizen services with a view to promoting the millennial common identity and culture. Cities from all over the Mediterranean can join this initiative and establish citizen services platforms locally that are interoperable across the region.
WISeKey looks forward to replicating this initiative in other culturally integrated regions of the world.
Contact:
Daniel Ybarra, VP Corporate Communications
Phone: +41/22/594'30'00
E-Mail: dybarra@wisekey.com
Internet: www.wisekey.com