http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050202/new005_1.html Yahoo! Finance Press Release Source: Peppercoin Peppercoin Small Payments Processing Suite Available to First Data Channels Wednesday February 2, 9:03 am ET Small Transaction Suite Certified for Sale Through Processor's Merchant Acquiring Partners WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Peppercoin, a payments company that enables profitable, new business models for low-priced digital content and physical goods, today announced its Small Transaction Suite is authorized for sale by First Data's merchant acquiring partners, to satisfy the small payment needs of the 3.5 million merchant clients they serve. Peppercoin offers merchants a hosted small-payment service, based on credit and debit card usage, which enables merchants to optimize revenue and profitability. Peppercoin is the only small-payment vendor that addresses the digital, mobile and physical point-of-sale (POS) markets. "Our agreement with First Data Merchant Services validates Peppercoin's ability to deliver a desired and profitable small payment solution to the financial services market, as well as the growing need for small payment credit and debit card payments solutions," said Mark Friedman, president of Peppercoin. "FDMS will enable a small payment business model that enhances merchant and acquirer revenue with one complete payment application." Significant Market Opportunity: Consumers are demonstrating a clear and growing preference to use their credit and debit cards for all sizes and types of purchases. In a 2004 study, Ipsos-Insight estimated that roughly 37.5 million US consumers would choose to use their credit and debit cards for transactions below $5. Each year, more than 354 billion cash transactions occur in the U.S. for less than $5 at the physical point-of-sale, representing $1.32 trillion in aggregate revenue. Leading markets include vending ($18 billion), parking ($10 billion), coin-op ($6 billion) and quick-serve-restaurants ($110 billion). The online and mobile small payment opportunities are substantial as well; fueled by music, games, video, publishing and services. TowerGroup estimates the digital micropayments opportunity reached more than $3 billion in 2004. And a September 2004 Ipsos-Insight study revealed that, in just one year, the number of US consumers who have made small online purchases grew 250%, from 4 million to 14 million. About Peppercoin, Inc. Peppercoin enables profitable new business models for low-priced digital content and physical goods. Peppercoin's small payment products help merchants, banks, and other payments companies build market adoption quickly through a flexible, consumer-friendly approach. Peppercoin integrates easily with existing business models and systems to accelerate revenues and increase profits while dramatically lowering transaction and customer service costs. For more information visit http://www.peppercoin.com. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Contact: Mark McClennan or Scott Love Schwartz Communications 781-684-0770 peppercoin@schwartz-pr.com Source: Peppercoin -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/ 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'