DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calpian, Inc. (OTCBB:CLPI), a Dallas-based public company engaged in the electronic payment processing business, is pleased to announce the March 28, 2012, investment in India-based My Mobile Payments Limited (“MMPL”) through a newly-formed company, Digital Payments Processing Limited (“DPPL”), both organized under the laws of India and headquartered in Mumbai. Working with MMPL, DPPL will be the customer face of Money on Mobile (“MoM”), a service that allows individuals to use their cellular phones to make routine payments such as mobile phone top-up, television time, and moving money using simple text messaging technology. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, there are 903.7 million cell phone subscribers in India, and the country is adding 9.9 million new subscribers per month. Calpian’s initial $1.3 million investment is the first in a series of investments Calpian expects to make in DPPL over the next 20 months.
Calpian's CEO, Harold Montgomery, commented, “We are thrilled to complete this round of our investment in MoM. The product is exceptional and the leadership team is dynamic and visionary. Their hard work has resulted in a growth rate unmatched anywhere in the world. With MoM’s annualized processing volume of over $72,000,000, which is growing at a monthly rate of 7%-10%, we believe this company has a bright future. This strategic investment is an excellent fit for Calpian, and establishes a solid foundation for us to consider other global markets to further enhance the value for our shareholders. We are especially pleased to be a leader in helping to further the Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to extend basic financial services to all members of Indian society.”
Details of the transaction are disclosed by Calpian in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 28, 2012, which is available at www.sec.gov.
About Calpian, Inc.
Calpian, Inc. (OTCBB:CLPI) is a Dallas, Texas-based public company engaged in the electronic payment processing business. Acting as a link in the delivery chain, Calpian works as an intermediary between large processors and merchants to facilitate payment for goods and services at the retail point-of-sale. Calpian acquires its merchant customers from independent sales agents who sell processing services and equipment to merchants on a daily basis. Calpian is part of the community of an estimated 10,000 ISOs that serve approximately 2 million small merchants in the U.S. across all geographies and industries with an estimated $1 billion in annual residuals. Calpian's management team has over 60 years in combined experience in the merchant processing/ISO business. During the ten years that they have worked together as a team in the industry, they have been involved in the successful acquisition of hundreds of portfolios from ISOs and have underwritten hundreds more. In that time, the management team has developed substantial experience in the industry and proprietary underwriting and portfolio monitoring capabilities, which they now bring to Calpian. The Company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Please visit our website at www.calpian.com.
About Money on Mobile (“MoM”)
MoM’s service uses the cell telephone number to identity both the sender and the recipient. To load funds onto the MoM system, the user stops at one of 55,000 independent retail stores within MoM’s existing retail distribution network across India and pays cash in exchange for a virtual currency load into his/her account with MoM. To move funds from the user’s account to another account, the sender generates a text message to MoM telling the company who to pay and in what amount. The amount is instantly debited from the user’s account and credited to the recipient’s account, and both parties receive a confirmation, all within a few seconds. MMPL launched its MoM service in late 2010, and currently has more than 2.7 million users and processes more than $72,000,000 (U.S. equivalent) in transactions each year (annualized based upon 2012 data and recent trends).
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This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of Calpian, Inc. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements," including statements regarding: the future expected revenues from acquired residual streams; the general ability of Calpian, Inc. to achieve its commercial objectives, including raising sufficient capital to fund future acquisitions; the business strategy, plans and objectives of Calpian, Inc.; and any other statements of non-historical information. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements are based upon management's current expectations, estimates and projections, are not guarantees of future performance, and are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond Calpian, Inc.'s control and are difficult to predict, including those discussed in Calpian, Inc.'s periodic reports and registration statements that are filed with the SEC and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, Calpian, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.