Utah Transit Authority Selects Innovative Payment Solution as Convenient Option for Salt Lake City Ski Service Passengers

WALTHAM, Mass.– Peppercoin, a payments technology company that enables profitable new business models for low-priced goods, services and digital content, announced that its technology will be a key element in the United States’ first contactless credit and debit card bus fare payment solution. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) selected ERG Group, a world leader in smart card automated fare collection systems, to deploy an innovative new solution to allow passengers during the 2006/07 ski season to use their contactless credit and debit cards to pay for transit fares on 41 Salt Lake City Ski Service buses by simply tapping their cards as they board the bus. The new system delivers increased cost effectiveness and business flexibility for UTA and far greater convenience and speed for its passengers.

The Utah Transit Authority serves the urban counties of Utah with 32 million trips per year. The UTA operates the popular Salt Lake City Ski Bus Service and has been a pioneer in promoting this innovative contactless pilot, integrating the ski resorts’ tickets, smart cards and debit and credit cards all in one program.

“Contactless cards and payment systems have quickly emerged as a groundbreaking payment solution for business of all kinds,” said Clair Fiet, chief technology officer, Utah Transit Authority. “This technology will provide our passengers a new level of convenience when traveling in our transit system and help them get to the ski slopes more quickly. It will be gratifying when the first passenger boards a bus and simply taps a credit card to pay for the fare this fall.”

Peppercoin Small Payments Suite Version 3.0 enables transit operators, such as UTA, to gain cost efficiencies and improve profitability while allowing their customers to use the credit and debit cards already in their wallets. The Peppercoin platform uses predictive modeling to automatically assess consumers’ buying behavior and make decisions about the best way to process their credit and debit card payments.

“Peppercoin’s small payments technology allows ERG to enhance its transit fare offerings in a way that is beneficial for transit agencies and their customers,” said Dr. Allan Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, ERG Group.

According to a survey conducted by Peppercoin and independent research firm Ipsos Insight in November 2005, more than one in three American consumers would be willing to use a credit card for purchasing transit services.

“Working with ERG and UTA marks Peppercoin’s expansion into the transit market. Combining ERG’s proven experience in fare collection with Peppercoin’s small payments technology is a strong partnership that will benefit transit agencies across the country,” said Mark Friedman, president and CEO of Peppercoin. “Our virtual prepaid and merchant loyalty functionality will drive increased consumer card usage in transit and other small payment markets.”

About ERG The ERG Group is a world leader in the development and supply of integrated fare management and software systems for the transit industry, and for its smart card systems and services. The Group has installed systems in major cities throughout the world including Hong Kong, Melbourne, Rome, San Francisco and Singapore with installations in progress in Gothenburg, Seattle, Stockholm, Sydney and Washington DC. ERG has delivered systems that support more than 20 million smart cards in circulation and handle approximately 5 billion transactions per annum. ERG is an Australian-based company, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and employs 900 people in 11 countries. For more information, visit www.erggroup.com.

About Peppercoin 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 for credit and debit card payments for everyday purchases quickly through a flexible, consumer-friendly approach. Peppercoin integrates easily with existing business models and payment systems to accelerate revenues and increase profits. For more information please visit www.peppercoin.com.