Tyfone and Dexim Bring NFC Contactless Payments to the iPhone

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tyfone (www.tyfone.com), a mobile financial services solutions provider, announced today the Tyfone iPhone sleeve, powered by Dexim (www.dexim.net). The Tyfone iPhone sleeve, designed and produced by award-winning smartphone accessories manufacturer Dexim, uses Tyfone’s SideTap™ MicroSD technology to allow existing iPhone users worldwide to make mobile contactless payments directly from their phones.

“Tyfone is poised to deliver on the promise of mobile contactless payments several years ahead of when industry analysts expect this technology to take off commercially”

“Financial institutions and retailers alike are turning to mobile technologies for the next wave of commerce evolution,” said Carol Grunberg, vice president of marketing at Tyfone. “Tyfone’s technology is built for the widest possible audience, and lets consumers add contactless payment technology to their existing mobile phones. Tyfone’s SideTap can work in hundreds of millions of phones with memory card slots already in the market today. The Tyfone iPhone sleeve lets people who are using the iPhone have the same contactless capabilities as people using Android, BlackBerry and other smartphones.”

The Tyfone iPhone sleeve and the company’s patented SideTap technology transform the iPhone into a true electronic wallet. This Dexim-powered stylish sleeve, which also provides protection for the iPhone, has a slot to house the Tyfone SideTap MicroSD card, the world’s first secure memory card integrated with contactless payments technology. This sleeve also has built-in circuitry interfacing the 30-pin iPhone connector to a memory card slot enabling iPhone apps to communicate to the smartcard chip in SideTap MicroSD for over-the-air provisioning and management of identity securely. A miniature antenna and onboard controller ensures consumers can securely store and update any bank account, credit card, prepaid card and other payment information.

A simple app lets the user select which payment information to use when checking out of retail stores, paying at restaurants and even when using public transportation. A simple tap against a contactless point-of-sale terminal – already available at hundreds of thousands of locations worldwide – completes the transaction. Tyfone’s technology leaves the memory card functionality completely intact, allowing people to increase the available storage of their iPhones for saving any kind of digital information.

“Tyfone is poised to deliver on the promise of mobile contactless payments several years ahead of when industry analysts expect this technology to take off commercially,” said Laconia Cheng, Managing Director at Dexim. “Through this partnership, Dexim will again use its technology to solve a real market issue with a simple and elegant solution that iPhone users will love.”

Tyfone’s contactless payments use near field communications (NFC) technology. NFC technology beams transact information over a very small distance to ensure secure financial transactions. As the industry standardizes NFC technology for contactless payments, the business models are still evolving. Tyfone’s contactless payments solutions put control of the electronic wallet in the hands of the consumer, remaining neutral between financial institutions, mobile operators and retailers.

Institutions interested in ordering Tyfone iPhone sleeves with SideTap MicroSD cards should contact contact@tyfone.com.

About Dexim

Dexim is a worldwide brand. The company manufactures a line of iPod/iPhone/iPad/BlackBerry accessories that offer consumers an enjoyable and superior experience. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.dexim.net.

About Tyfone

Founded in 2004, Tyfone’s corporate headquarters are in Portland, Oregon, and its Asia-Pacific headquarters are in Bangalore, India. Tyfone connects money and mobility via a highly secure, scalable and flexible mobile financial services solution tailored to meet the evolving needs of consumers, financial institutions, mobile network operators, transportation companies, and retailers. Operating in any standard memory card slot, Tyfone’s u4ia® platform and its companion SideTap™ memory card is the world’s first patented, neutral, and comprehensive memory card-based payments solution for mobile contactless payments. Tyfone and its partners enable a suite of services including Mobile Banking, Mobile Identity Management, Mobile Remote Payments, Mobile Retail Services, and Mobile Contactless Payments. For more information visit www.tyfone.com.

Some names and brands mentioned may be claimed as the property of others. Tyfone®, u4ia®, and SideTap™ are trademarks of Tyfone, Inc.

iPod, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. “Made for iPod” means that an electronic accessory has been designed to connect specifically to iPod and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. “Works with iPhone” means that an electronic accessory has been designed to connect specifically to iPhone and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. Apple is not responsible for the operation of this device or its compliance with safety and regulatory standards.