PHILADELPHIA and BAYONNE, France, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
True Product ID, Inc. (OTC:TPDI) (BULLETIN BOARD: TPDI) (TPID) and
Globe Staff Consulting Corporation (Pink Sheets: GSFC) today
announced that they will both have their technologies embedded into
SmartCards in the Philippines. GSFC is a majority owned subsidiary
of Sure Trace Security Corporation (OTC:SSTY) and TPID is a former
SSTY subsidiary. Two companies, one based in the Philippines and
one from Australia have entered into an exclusive agreement to
launch a brand-new electronic payment system using contactless card
technology in the Philippines. The card functions like a debit card
and can be reloaded from time to time. It can be used in
convenience stores, fast food centers, drugstores, gas stations,
supermarkets, and eventually, transportation systems. One of the
two companies, First Versatile Smartcard Solutions Corporation
(VersaCard), the marketer, was recently acquired by the MacKay
Group. The other, who will provide the hardware and software for
the venture, is the ERG Group of Australia (ERG.AX). The ERG Group
(http://www.erggroup.com/) 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, D.C. 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. Executives of both
VersaCard and ERG stated they hope this is the first step to
convert the Philippines into a cashless society. Richard Bendis,
President/CEO of True Product ID, Inc., stated, "We are excited to
have a company such as ERG recognize the value of and to
incorporate both TPID's S-DNA taggant and its related technologies
and the 'Tag and Track' technology of Globe Staff into their
SmartCards and believe that this will only be the first market in
which both technologies are appended to these type of cards."
Michael Donnelly, a member of the Management Board of ERG Group of
Australia, added, "ERG, through the ERG Transit Systems, has
installed systems in major countries and cities all over the world.
In Hong Kong it is called the Octopus card, which is a creative way
to explain that the card has as many uses as octopus tentacles: to
pay fares in public transport, pay for purchases, and even act as a
personal identity card for entry in buildings and schools." Joseph
Issifu, President and COO of First Versatile Smartcard Solutions
Corp., added, "There are only 8 million people in Hong Kong but the
number of Octopus cards in circulation is 13 million. So far, there
are over 20 million smart cards in circulation worldwide, with
various names such as EZ Link in Singapore, which handle
approximately five billion transactions per annum." James MacKay,
Chairman, First Versatile Smartcard Solutions Corp. and Joseph
Issifu, President and COO of First Versatile Smartcard Solutions
Corp., and Michael Donnelly, member of the Management Board of ERG
Group of Australia, signed the licensing agreement May 27, 2006 in
the Philippines. This new 'Cashless' and 'Contactless' Versatile
card will contain a stored value, and it can be reloaded in
convenience stores, reloading counters or machines, in banks, ATMs
or even through cell phones. "You can initially get the card at
outlets where you usually get phone cards and Internet cards. This
is really mass-based distribution," Issifu assured. Donnelly
offered that, "Ultimate convenience, safety and security, and
budget control over lifestyle expenses is what this partnership
between First Versatile Smartcard and ERG means in the long term.
Users can move around practically cashless and debit their expenses
against the stored value in their cards - transport, food,
products, and soon, even services, like payments in Internet
cafes." "Eventually, you can do most things with the chip in your
card or in your watch or in your pendant, or in your cell phone,"
MacKay stated. "If it gets stolen, report the theft right away and
the chip is blacklisted. Then you simply apply for a replacement."
"To secure First Versatile cards further, they will contain TPID's
S-DNA (synthetic DNA), which is used to mark each card with a
particular signature. A highly advanced scanning technology
provides portable field authentication and determines which cards
contain the S-DNA and which don't, thereby eliminating counterfeit
cards immediately," Issifu added. "Once marked, the item is marked
forever. The S-DNA technology will be used to code each of the
First Versatile cards to make them practically theft-proof. If
stolen, the card is retired and a new one, also containing S-DNA,
is issued as replacement." In addition, the cards will carry GSFC's
"Tag and Track" system. The "Tag and Track" system will provide a
flexible, rapidly deployable assisted-GPS / GSM location-based
service including an innovative integrated RFID technology that
enables a wide array of customizable applications. The technology
locates and/or tracks vehicles, objects, assets or people ... in
this case SmartCards. VersaCard customers will deploy a portable
receiver or reader device, which will be used to pick up the signal
transmitted by our "Tag and Track" Tracker with its integrated RFID
Tag. This system was originally conceived/developed on a Special
Police Forces request from the French Ministry of the Interior. The
Company's RFID chip will be a miniaturized, implantable radio
frequency identification device that has the potential to be used
in a variety of security, financial, and other applications. It is
smaller than a grain of rice; the encoded information is captured
by briefly passing a proprietary scanner or passing through any
receivers. First Versatile chairman James MacKay of the MacKay
Group, a global corporation with a broad range of interests,
particularly very strong in IT, and based in Beijing, New York,
Philadelphia and Paris, considers the investment in the Philippines
as timely, very trend-setting, and revolutionary. "It will impact
hugely on the lives of the Filipinos, as well as provide amazing
buying convenience and change the way people do business and
transport themselves and their products. It will give them the 21st
century technology they deserve." ERG supplies the hardware and its
exclusive Multiple-Application SmartCard Solution (MASS), which is
the most advanced software of its kind in the world backed by
research in excess of US$100 million. MASS can manage a large smart
card database, financial reconciliation, and gather management data
for transit and other applications. This same system will be
applied to the Philippine setting, not just for mass transport but
for other retail transactions. About ERG Group The ERG Transit
System is a world leader in automated fare collection products and
systems for all modes of transport utilizing all types of ticket
technology - paper, magnetic stripe, and contactless card and dual
interface (meaning contact/contactless) smart cards. The company
also provides fully integrated systems for transit operators from
backend processing to depot computer software and from on-vehicle
or on-station equipment. But in the Philippines, as in other
countries, the ERG MASS smart card technology will power up chips
to record all possible transactions besides transport. The chip can
also be programmed to be personalized, thus, functioning as an
identity card. The ERG Group has two main business areas: Automated
Fare Collection. ERG Transit Systems is a world leader in automated
fare collection products and systems for all modes of transport
utilizing all types of ticket technology including paper, magnetic
stripe and contactless and dual interface (contact/contactless)
smart cards. The Company specializes in providing and operating
fully integrated systems for transit operators, from backend
processing to depot computer software, to on-vehicle or on-station
equipment Smart Cards. ERG Card Systems provides smart card systems
and solutions which can incorporate membership programs, loyalty
schemes, security access, biometric data and social security
information; as well as electronic purse functions including
retail, public transport ticketing, telephone, road tolling,
vending and parking. The Company provides smart card system design,
integration expertise and project management services for all types
of smart card projects. ERG trades on the Australian Stock Exchange
(ERG.AX). For more information, go to http://www.erggroup.com/.
About First Versatile Smartcard Solutions Corporation First
Versatile Smartcard Solutions Corporation (VersaCard) is a
privately held corporation organized and existing under the laws of
the Philippines, which was recently acquired by The MacKay Group,
Inc. [a company controlled by James MacKay, Chairman of SSTY, True
Product ID, Inc. (OTC:TPDI) (BULLETIN BOARD: TPDI) (TPID) and Globe
Staff Consulting Corporation (Pink Sheets: GSFC).] About True
Product ID, Inc. True Product ID, Inc. (OTC:TPDI) (BULLETIN BOARD:
TPDI) , a former subsidiary of SSTY, via a license from Sure Trace
Security Corporation (OTC:SSTY), delivers turnkey solutions for
governments, armed forces, and industry, through proprietary
technology and through aggregating the technology, products, and
services of third parties via licensing agreements and/or joint
ventures. In addition to a license from SSTY, TPID will also be
providing the day-to-day operational duties and R&D for SSTY's
majority owned subsidiary, Globe Staff Consulting Corporation. For
more information go to: http://www.tpid.net/. About Globe Staff
Consulting Corporation and Sure Trace Security Corporation Globe
Staff Consulting Corporation (Pink Sheets: GSFC) is a subsidiary of
Sure Trace Security Corporation (OTC:SSTY). GSFC is one of France's
leaders in the field of wireless security communications. GSFC has
partnerships with Orange, French Telecom and Thales. The Company
was formed for the purpose of selling and distributing wireless
security communications services and is focusing on tracking,
tracing and geolocalization of products and people. The company has
developed a mix of security tracking services targeting businesses,
governments and consumers. Our technology assists our customers to
be informed in real time of the exact location of products or
people, with 2way communication and can be customized to meet
additional client requirements. GSFC's innovative product and
service offerings provide the best advantages to customers,
including the smallest tracking modules with GSM and GPS dual
capability and innovative specialty cellular phone models, data
capability, all hosted on an ASP server platform. Sure Trace
produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security
surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking
devices. For more information go to: http://www.suretrace.com/ and
http://www.gsc.fr/corp/. SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release
contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future
expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally
preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or
"should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or
"projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to
a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future
circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks
that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or perform as
intended, that we may be unable to obtain necessary financing to
continue operations and development, and other risks. You should
consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements
included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements.
The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and
Sure Trace undertakes no obligation to update such statements. In
August 2005, the common stock of Sure Trace was suspended from
trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the
suspension ended in accordance with the securities laws after ten
days. Management of Sure Trace is currently working with the
broker-dealer community and regulators to permit quotations to be
entered as soon as possible. More information will be provided to
the public when circumstances warrant. DATASOURCE: Sure Trace
Security Corporation CONTACT: Michael Cimino, President, Sure Trace
Security Corporation, +1-215-972-6999, Web site:
http://www.suretrace.com/ http://www.gsc.fr/corp
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