BSI2000 Signs LOI to Establish Major South African Banking System
PR Newswire - Friday March 19, 2004
DENVER, Mar 19, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- BSI2000, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BSIO) announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with a South African company to establish a major banking system to serve rural South African societies that are currently cash-only economies.
The agreement with Mudengu Resources Holdings, PTY, LTD. of Johannesburg, calls for the establishment of a new joint venture company to operate a bank in South Africa that will be based on BSI2000's MicroBanker 2000(TM) technology. Mudengu is a South African holding company that owns six subsidiaries active in mining, construction, electronics, information technology and import-export. The new joint venture will work closely with the two million-member United African Apostolic Church.
BSI2000 launched a demonstration program last September in a remote area of South Africa to store several megabytes of data including a four-color, high resolution digital photo, images of multiple fingerprints and basic name and address information as well as bank account balances, security, authorization and an audit trail on optical cards for each account holder. The system, designed to work anywhere in the world in areas with limited or expensive telecommunications, would also be highly suitable for use in India, China, Pakistan, Russia, Eastern Europe and Indonesia. Banking analysts estimate the size of the emerging microbanking global market at $1.1 trillion.
Service to rural South Africans is expected to begin with basic savings and cash debit services and ultimately could include loans. An estimated 10,000 people, including several South African government officials, attended the opening of the bank building when the technology was demonstrated last September in the far north of the country.
The launch of the joint venture is contingent on the signing of a final agreement between Mudengu and BSI2000 and funding of $1.25 million by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. BSI2000 and Mudengu hope to begin operations by the second half of 2004.
BSI2000 President and CEO Jack Harper said, "Millions of South African citizens have never had access to standard bank services. This means they have no way to safely bank their funds, earn interest on deposits or carry on routine banking activities that many of us take for granted. We intend to change that.
"Most of the money in South Africa's cash economy is currently dormant and not really circulating or helping the economy grow. An interesting side effect of MicroBanker 2000 will be that the enormous amount of free currency floating around today in South Africa will be vacuumed up. When that cash is deposited in the bank, it will become available to be loaned back out to support further growth. A South African government official says that MicroBanker 2000 should provide a dramatic lift over time to the financial well-being of millions of South Africans with a corresponding lift to the country's overall economy.
"There is still a good deal to be accomplished. We are actively seeking the participation of a major South African bank to interface with our system. Once the final agreement is signed between us and funding is in place, we believe we can move rapidly to roll out our banking services in close cooperation with the United African Apostolic Church.
"We are particularly delighted to have greatly strengthened our position in South Africa by establishing a close relationship with Mudengu. They are fully equipped to provide us with the resources necessary to make the project successful."
An investment profile on BSI2000 may be found at www.hawkassociates.com/bsi2000/profile.htm
About BSI2000
Based in Lakewood, Colorado, BSI2000, Inc. is working to become a global leader in optical card-based security systems. The company has developed patent-pending technology for identifying, authenticating and tracking people and their activities in a wide variety of applications. The company's systems involve sophisticated and proprietary use of optical card technology as well as cryptology and artificial intelligence.
The company's Crypto 2000 system is the only optical card system that provides the sufficient level of security required for financial transactions. Crypto 2000 elevates optical card data security to a highly secure Federal Government level. The company has filed a multi-faceted patent that should protect the special crypto hardware, software and cryptographic protocol that make up Crypto 2000.
In addition to potentially significant applications for homeland and business security, the systems are highly applicable for national identity systems, personal medical and prescription records, banking, travel and fitness. The company has high-level clearances for sensitive government work. More information on the company can be found at www.bsi2000.com.
For investor relations information contact Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates at (305) 852-2383. Email: info@hawkassociates.com Media contact Kelly Cinelli, CWR Partners, email Kelly@cwrpartners.com or call (508) 222-4802. For BSI2000 information contact Jack Harper at (303) 231-9095. Detailed information about BSI2000 can be found on the website www.bsi2000.com. Copies of BSI2000 press releases, current level II price quotes, interactive and Java stock charts and other valuable information for investors may be found on the websites www.hawkassociates.com and www.hawkmicrocaps.com.
SOURCE BSI2000, Inc.
Investors, Frank Hawkins, or Julie Marshall, both of Hawk
Associates, +1-305-852-2383, or info@hawkassociates.com for BSI2000; or Media,
CWR Partners, +1-508-222-4802, for BSI2000; or Jack Harper of BSI2000,
+1-303-231-9095
bsi2000.com
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