IVI Checkmate and Kyrus closed agreement in Puerto Rico
Mr. Special Supermarket Chain to Implement End to End Point-of-Service
and Transaction Management System
ATLANTA, Georgia/TORONTO, Canada, March 17 /CNW/ - IVI Checkmate Corp.
(NASDAQ: CMIV); (TSE: IVC/IVI) today announced an agreement with Mr. Special,
one of Puerto Rico's largest supermarket chains. The agreement with Mr.
Special is the first order of the recently announced partnership between Kyrus
and IVI Checkmate. The solution will provide Mr. Special with an end to end
transaction management and consumer value-added solution, which will include
an IBM 4690 point-of-service system, client/server based transaction
switching, check management, a courtesy card program, and a pilot electronic
check conversion program.
Mr. Special, an 18-location high-end supermarket chain featuring superior
customer service, was looking for a solution that would enable them to both
reduce the cost of consumer payments and position themselves for rapid
expansion of the functionality of their store and headquarter systems as
consumer needs evolve.
Edin Alonso, Chief Financial Officer of Mr. Special, states, ''One of the
primary reason we selected the IVI Checkmate and Kyrus system was their
ability to help us to manage the consumer payment process. eN-Concert
Enterprise, IVI Checkmate's client/server based transaction and value-added
management application, positions us to bring payment transaction routing
in-house. This will serve as a foundation from which we will implement the
eN-Concert's check management application reducing our exposure to check
fraud. Additionally the system allows us to immediately implement a customer
courtesy card system that we can grow into a full loyalty program.'' Alonso
adds, ''In addition to combining consumer credit, debit, and EBT payments, IVI
Checkmate's eN-Touch 1000 enables Mr. Special to signature capture,
eliminating a costly paper trail.''
Regarding the partnership between Kyrus and IVI Checkmate, Alonso stated,
''The two firms came in as one from the beginning and worked very closely with
Mr. Special to understand our needs and to recommend a versatile and open
solution that provided a return on our investment and could grow with us.''
Gregory A. Lewis, President and CEO of IVI Checkmate's U.S. Operations
states, ''This agreement represents a major step forward in our quest to
market and sell end to end transaction solutions. The Kyrus partnership
agreement has positioned IVI Checkmate to integrate our payment and
value-added solutions with their IBM 4690 point-of-service system to provide a
complete store and enterprise level solution that will grow as Mr. Special's
consumer service requirements grow.'' Lewis adds, ''It is exciting to see an
upscale supermarket chain such as Mr. Special use our technology to solve
today's pressing consumer payment and service issues while positioning
themselves to meet the challenges of tomorrow.''
Formerly known as MidSouth Data Systems, Kyrus has customer installations
in all 50 states, and in several countries. The company serves the
supermarket, retail, convenience, hospitality and school (K-12) food service
industries, and its customers are among the industry leaders in each of the
segments served. Kyrus offers a complete range of products and services,
including hardware/software, development and integration, customer support,
hardware/software maintenance, professional and consulting services, and has
separate business units dedicated to store security, store signage, and store
media and supplies. Kyrus serves these industries through a direct sales force
and a business partner program with 40 resellers that is anticipated to grow
to 60 resellers by year end.
Founded in 1974, Kyrus is headquartered in Taylors, SC and employs over
540 people nationally. Kyrus is IBM's largest provider of POS systems and has
been named IBM's Retail Industry ''Remarketer of the Year'' for the past eight
years. For the second year in a row, the Company received the IBM Business
Partner Leadership Award for its accomplishments in 1997 and 1998. For more
information on Kyrus, visit their web site at www.kyrus.com.
IVI Checkmate is the third largest electronic transaction solutions
provider in North America. The Company designs, develops, and markets
innovative payment and value-added solutions that optimize transaction
management at the point-of-service in the retail, financial, hospitality,
healthcare, and transportation industries. IVI Checkmate's software, hardware,
and professional services minimize transaction costs, reduce operational
complexity, and improve profitability for its customers in the U.S., Canada
and Latin America. For more information on IVI Checkmate, visit their web site
at www.ivicheckmate.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements subject to the
safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Management cautions that these statements represent projections and estimates
of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The
Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in
these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors including,
without limitation, the Company's dependence on its limited suppliers and
manufacturers of component parts of its products; rapid and significant
technological developments that could delay the introduction of improvements
in existing products or of new products; the Company's dependence on its
proprietary technologies (which may be independently developed by
competitors); the Company's dependence on a small number of large retail
customers; the potential fluctuation in financial results as a result of the
Company's inability to make sales to large customers as well as the volume and
timing of bookings received during a quarter and variations in sales mix;
competition from existing companies as well as new market entrants; and, the
Company's dependence on key personnel.
-0- 03/17/1999
For further information: L. Barry Thomson, President & CEO, IVI Checkmate Corp., (416) 245-6700; John J. Neubert, CFO/Executive Vice President, IVI Checkmate Corp., (770) 594-6000
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