FICO adoption of ValidSoft Technology brings Safety of Payment Card Transactions to UK Banks

LONDON, Nov. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As a follow-up to yesterday's announcement by FICO (NYSE: FICO) (http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131105-907463.html?dsk=y), a leading predictive analytics and decision management software company, announced the availability of a new proximity correlation service for credit and debit card issuers which is aimed at improving the safety of payment card transactions. The new FICO service which several UK banks are planning to deploy has been developed in partnership with ValidSoft, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE MKT: ETAK), a leading provider of proprietary Software Defined Network Architecture (Software DNA™) platforms for the telecommunications mobile industry and a market leader in providing solutions to counter electronic fraud in the cloud. 

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The FICO® Proximity Location Service, part of FICO® Fraud Resolution Manager, compares the physical location of a cardholder's registered mobile phone against the location of the ATM or point-of-sale terminal where the card is being used. Based on the proximity, a cardholder account can be blocked or cleared for further activity. In trials of the service with UK card accounts, the ability to perform this proximity matching reduced the number of "false positives" (genuine transactions investigated because they appear to be fraudulent) on international transactions by as much as 70 percent. Several UK banks are now developing deployment plans for the new FICO service.

Pat Carroll, CEO of ValidSoft, commented, "ValidSoft is pleased to be increasing our relationship with FICO to provide them with both our SIM Swap and Proximity Correlations solutions. The adoption by FICO for Proximity Correlation takes our solutions mainstream and we are immensely excited at the potential, given the size of the global addressable market. In an increasingly 'always connected' world, where our communications devices work globally and borders become inconsequential in terms of connectivity, having legitimate card transactions declined simply because they are occurring in a foreign country is unjustifiable and unnecessary. The uses for this advanced technology solution are many but none more beneficial than this international card conundrum."

The FICO® Fraud Resolution Manager is an automated, two-way communications service that processes fraud cases by leveraging intelligent data assessment, advanced decision management and customer intervention. It gives organizations the scalability to process high volumes of cases simultaneously, performing investigations, shaping customer action and contact strategies, and reaching resolution in seconds. FICO Fraud Resolution Manager can be seamlessly integrated with FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager, the world's leading platform for credit fraud management, which protects 2.5+ billion card transactions a year.

ValidSoft's Proximity Correlation Logic® greatly reduces the number of declined transactions, due to incorrectly  suspected,  card fraud, resulting in less customer complaints and interaction with help desks and a far higher level of customer satisfaction and privacy. Having card transactions declined when overseas on business or holiday can cause great stress to cardholders and is a significant problem for UK issuers, one that the leading UK banks are now actively looking to address. ValidSoft's patent pending Proximity Correlation Logic® has been accredited with a European Privacy Seal, a testament to the privacy-sensitive fashion in which the service operates.

About ValidSoft:
ValidSoft Limited has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications since early 2010 and underpins its mobile/cloud security offering. The company is a market leader in providing solutions to counter electronic fraud and safeguarding consumer privacy relating to a variety of bank, card, internet and telephone channels. ValidSoft's solutions are used to verify the authenticity of both parties to a  transaction (Mutual Authentication),  the  security  of  the  relevant telecommunication channel used (Secure Communications), and the integrity of transactions itself (Transaction Verification) for the mass market, in a highly cost effective and secure manner while being very easy to use. The company counts several leading worldwide service providers and institutions amongst its customers.  ValidSoft is the only security software company in the world that has been granted three European Privacy Seals. Visit: www.validsoft.com.

About Elephant Talk:
Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE MKT: ETAK), is a leading international provider of mobile proprietary Software Defined Network Architecture (Software DNA^™) platforms for the telecommunications industry that empower Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Enablers (MVNEs) and Aggregators (MVNAs) with a full suite of applications, Full OSS/BSS Systems, Delivery Platforms, Support and Managed Services, on-site, cloud, hybrid and S/PaaS solutions, including Network, Mobile Internet ID Solutions, Secure Remote Access Management, Loyalty Management and Transaction Processing Services, superior Industry Expertise and high quality Customer Service without substantial upfront investment. Elephant Talk counts several of the world's leading Mobile Operators amongst its customers including Vodafone, T-Mobile, Zain and Iusacell. Virtually all business is focused on tier 1 and tier 2 operators worldwide. Visit:  www.elephanttalk.com.

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Investor Relations:

Steve Gersten
Elephant Talk Communications
+1 813 926 8920
[email protected]

Thomas Walsh
Alliance Advisors
+ 1 212 398 3486
[email protected]

Public Relations:

UK: Fishburn Hedges
+ 44 20 7839 4321
[email protected]

SOURCE ValidSoft