m-Via at Mobile Financial Services Summit – Denver, CO – July 29-30

On July 29, 2008, m-Via’s Ken Kruszka will be presenting “It Takes a Network: Bridging the Mobile Transactions Chasm” at Mobile Financial Services Summit.

m-Via at MobileCampSF2 – San Francisco – June 14

On June 14, 2008, m-Via’s Ken Kruszka will be conducting a session entitled “The Power of Mobile: Reducing World Poverty” at MobileCampSF2.

m-Via at Mobile Rules Expo – Espoo, Finland – May 5-8

On May 5-8, 2008, m-Via’s Ken Kruszka will be presenting an overview of The Mobile Transaction Network (MTxN) at Mobile Rules Expo in Espoo, Finland.

Mobile Rules Expo is an invitation-only event with the aim of bringing innovative mobile solutions to a wide audience of Nokia representatives and managers.

Foreign Service: International m-commerce hits and misses good lessons for U.S.

From the Spring 2008 edition of CTIA’s Wireless Wave article entitled “Foreign Service: International m-commerce hits and misses good lessons for U.S.”:

M-commerce already is de rigueur in many parts of the world. It’s the means by which many people pay for the subway, buy movie tickets and do their banking. Although the United States is making progress, to learn more about m-commerce and see where it has succeeded – and struggled – it’s more illustrative to look abroad, as many other parts of the world are more significantly involved in this technological area than the US.

The article goes on to describe the different forms of mobile payments technology and approaches. m-Via’s own Ken Kruszka was interviewed for this article and is quoted explaining the company’s focus on mobile remittances.

To read this article and view other media coverage, please visit the Media Coverage section of our website.

Javelin Strategy and Research: Mobile Person-to-Person Payments and Transfers

From Javelin’s March 2008 report entitled “Mobile Person-to-Person Payments and Transfers: Security and Timing are Everything”:

Mobile person-to-person payments and transfers (mobile P2P) offer the first income-generating step for financial institutions on the pathway to full mobile banking and payments. While still a niche product, demand is growing and one out of ten consumers currently states that he or she would likely use mobile P2P if the service were available. This report is based on an online survey of 2192 consumers, a survey of 26 executives from the financial industry, and ten interviews of executives in the payments industry. …

The report goes on to compare and contrast m-Via with 6 other market leaders in mobile payments.

Please visit the Analyst Views section of our website for information on how to order the report.

m-Via Wins Award at 2008 Mobile Rules!

m-Via Wins Award at 2008 Mobile Rules!

m-Via’s Mobile Transaction Network stands out at Nokia-sponsored event

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 31, 2008 – m-Via Inc., the standard-bearer in mobile transaction
technology and solutions, was recognized in a formal awards ceremony in San Jose, CA as a leading
mobile innovator.

m-Via’s Mobile Transaction Network earned distinction as runner-up in the Mobile Rules! competition’s
business plan category, besting hundreds of submissions from around the world and garnering praise
from the judges for quality of the presentation, strength of the solution, and insight into the market.
Mobile Rules! is the world’s leading annual competition for business plans and applications in the mobile
environment. The goal of the competition, which is organized by a consortium of the world’s leading
technology and communication brands led by Nokia and FinNode, is to seek out entrepreneurs and
developers who are creating new value, new revenue, and new services for mobile devices and the
mobile lifestyle.

“Nokia is very pleased to announce the winners of the Mobile Rules! ’08 competition, who with their
ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit typify an emerging wave tapping into today’s exciting convergence of
mobility and the Internet,” said Tom Libretto, Vice President of Forum Nokia. “Open platforms and the
millions of smartphone devices available today helping enable this new wave of entrepreneurs from
around the globe to become drivers of the future global mobile marketplace through the innovative
technologies, applications and business models they create today.”

“Obviously, we are thrilled to have been chosen from among such an impressive group of entrants for this
award. It is especially satisfying to be recognized as an emerging mobile innovator by Mobile Rules!, an
assemblage of the foremost leaders in mobile technology and services,” said Kenneth D. Kruszka, CEO
of m-Via. “Beyond the accolades, this award also represents an acknowledgement that most mobile
payments solutions in the market today are incomplete and that the key to releasing their full potential lies
in m-Via’s Mobile Transaction Network, a global interoperable backbone for mobile transactions.”

About m-Via Inc.
m-Via Inc. is a leading innovator of mobile transaction technology, solutions, and services. m-Via delivers
global transaction solutions that are easy to use, highly secure, and extremely cost effective. m-Via’s
revolutionary MoTr™ application suite allows anyone with a cell phone to send, receive and transact
money anywhere in the world. With a combination of standard, turn-key solutions, flexible best-in-breed
technology, and specialized services, m-Via empowers financial institutions, community-based
organizations, retailers, or any other group to provide their customers or members with convenient access
to financial services wherever they are, whenever they want. More information about the company may
be obtained at www.m-via.com.

There’s no substitute for real money

History is replete with schemes and approaches to create substitutes for real (that is, government-backed ) currency. And what they all have in common is that, eventually, they have all failed disastrously. Let’s review some of the more famous debacles that happened in the past and a couple that are playing themselves out presently.

In the 1600’s the Tulip Craze hit Holland. While the craze is usually cited as the stereotypical example of irrational exuberance leading to a market bubble that ultimately is unsustainable, it is also true that during that period the tulip actually acted as an informal currency. A large variety of real goods and services were exchanged for tulips.

Fast-forward now to the dot-com era, during which the online currencies Beenz and Flooz were introduced as alternatives to actual hard currencies. Both failed spectacularly in 2001, with Flooz even garnering the honor of being named one of the Top 10 Dot-Com Flops by CNet.

Even the most successful alternate currency systems, the myriad of loyalty points programs such as those run by the airlines, are fraught with problems. Frequent flier programs are seeing growing discontent from consumers, with industry analysts predicting a wholesale exodus from such programs in the near future.

Despite the failures of all these schemes in the past, new forms of alternate currencies continue to be introduced. For instance, in virtual worlds and massively multi-player games, the practice is common to create an in-world currency: Second Life has Linden Dollars, World of Warcraft has gold. So long as the virtual money remains confined to the systems with which they are associated and is used only to acquire virtual goods within those alternate worlds, these currencies are just “Monopoly Money” and little if any harm can be done. But, as we all know, these currencies are being exchanged for actual, real money.

Back in the real-world, the modern-day tulip is the mobile phone airtime minute, which has taken hold in places such as the Philippines and Africa as a form of cashless currency.

The problems with such informal currencies are many, which can be analyzed in terms of 3 overlapping categories: Trust, Fungibility, and Real-World Issues.

Ultimately the purpose of a currency is to protect the sanctity of a transaction. Back in the ages when bartering dominated commerce, the sanctity of the transaction was not an issue because there was no lag time between when you gave 3 chickens and received a bushel of apples. Introducing currency allowed you to drop off your chickens at the butcher shop and then go next door to the fruit stand to get your apples. But, if the currency can’t be trusted to retain its value for the short period of time between when you to conduct the two transactions, the currency is ultimately worthless. (I’m avoiding a discussion of the time value of money by keeping a focus on short time periods.)

Trust is broken when value is lost (note the currency crisis in Argentina a few years back). Real-world currencies protect trust through government backing, formal monetary and fiscal controls, and regulation. Governments ensure scarcity of the legal tender and act to control inflation, thereby ensuring a stable money supply and value preservation. Who is ensuring the trustworthiness of informal currencies? Do their incentives align with this goal?

Fungibility speaks to the usefulness of the currency. Real-world currencies are highly fungible because they are essentially universally accepted and also convertible into other currencies. Informal currencies are also convertible, to a point. But, the controls and the mechanisms for such conversion are akin to the black market exchanges in the former Communist states, much because informal currencies are not recognized as legal tender by any government. The effect is similar to what happened when the Soviet Union outlawed the possession of US Dollars: it drives the exchange market underground, which ultimately makes use of the currency inefficient.

Informal currencies lack fungibility because they are not universally accepted. The reason for this ties back to the Trust issue and the lack of formal backing. Concentrating on the currency of airtime minutes, obviously this currency lacks fungibility because it’s necessary to find someone willing to accept minutes as legal tender, which has a number of barriers: must be on the same network, must agree on the value of the minutes, must be on a prepaid airtime plan, must be able to further use the minutes as currency to make purchases, etc.

Real-world issues have a profound impact on informal currencies. How are transactions taxed? What are the property-rights implications? Who adjudicates and resolves disputes?

All these issues, and many more, have already been addressed for real currencies over a period of thousands of years. The banking industry and infrastructure that we see today is the culmination of these efforts. Until such time as informal currencies have the same amount of control, they will continue to be just a shadow of the real thing, and they will always eventually wilt, just like a tulip.

MTxN selected as Mobile Rules! 2008 Finalist

We are very proud that Mobile Rules! has recognized m-Via’s Mobile Transaction Network (MTxN) as a 2008 Finalist in the Business Plan track:

“Mobile Rules! is the leading annual competition in the mobile world. The goal of the competition is to search for bright and fresh innovations and business plans that will bring the mobile business to a completely new level. Being a finalist in such a high-level rally is proof of your extraordinary creativeness, diligence and talent.”

Mobile Transaction Network (MTxN)
Not that long ago, minted coins were the only sanctioned currency, until paper money largely displaced coins. Then, paper money’s role in financial transactions was set aside by checks. Then credit cards and debit cards assumed the mantle of preferred form of payment. For all of these payment mechanisms, networks were created to handle currency and to protect the sanctity of the transaction.

Now, we are in the midst of yet another evolution of currency. Mobile payments are emerging and will soon become the dominant payment mechanism. However, the world is devoid of an appropriate financial network for this new paradigm.

But, coming soon from m-Via, the Mobile Transaction Network™ will solve this problem. The Mobile Transaction Network™ will provide the infrastructure and the ecosystem that is necessary for mobile payments to join the ranks of first-class payment mechanisms and assume the mantle of the preferred form of payment for years to come.

m-Via at SDForum – Menlo Park – February 18

On February 18, 2008, m-Via’s Ken Kruszka will be presenting and participating in a panel discussion at an SDForum session entitled “International Program: The Impact of Technology on Emerging Economies: MicroFinance” in Menlo Park, CA.

m-Via Releases Mobile Friends and Family Payments

m-Via Releases Mobile Friends and Family Payments Solution

Bringing the advantages of Mobile Transactions to Interpersonal Payments

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 7, 2008 – m-Via Inc., the leader in innovative mobile transaction
technology and solutions, today announced the release of a new turn-key solution for Mobile Friends and
Family Payments, bringing the power and convenience of mobile transactions to the problem of social
and interpersonal payments.

From friends and family to online social networks, people are more connected now than ever before and
expect instant interactions with members of their social circle. Before now, giving money to friends and
relatives for any occasion, whether festive, commonplace, or an emergency was onerous; cash, checks,
and money orders are inconvenient for either the giver or the recipient, or both.

m-Via’s Mobile Friends and Family Payments Solution opens a new era in interpersonal money
exchange. Build atop the proven foundation of the best-of-breed mobile transactions application suite,
MoTr™, m-Via’s Mobile Friends and Family Payments Solution provides advantages over traditional
methods on all measures: cost, speed, security, convenience, safety.

“Why is it that money exchanges among friends and family is still conducted mostly using cash and
checks while over 80% of consumers under age 30 greatly prefer using credit cards, debit cards, or
electronic mechanisms to make purchases? The reason is that, before our Mobile Friends and Family
Payments Solution, there was no easy, convenient, and economical way of transacting money within your
social circle whenever you want and wherever you are,” said Kenneth D. Kruszka, CEO of m-Via. “What
we’ve done with this solution is bridge the gap between sender and recipient and allow people to
exchange money anywhere, anytime without the hassles and dangers of carrying cash.”

About m-Via Inc.
m-Via Inc. is a leading innovator of mobile transaction technology, solutions, and services. m-Via delivers
global transaction solutions that are easy to use, highly secure, and extremely cost effective. m-Via’s
revolutionary MoTr™ application suite allows anyone with a cell phone to send, receive and transact
money anywhere in the world. With a combination of standard, turn-key solutions, flexible best-in-breed
technology, and specialized services, m-Via empowers financial institutions, community-based
organizations, retailers, or any other group to provide their customers or members with convenient access
to financial services wherever they are, whenever they want. More information about the company may
be obtained at www.m-via.com.