WESTON, Fla., July 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wall Street News Alert's "stocks to watch" this morning are: Payment Data Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:PYDS), Ultra Petroleum Corp. (AMEX:UPL), VIVUS Inc. (Nasdaq:VVUS), and Lipid Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:LIPD).
Aggressive investors and traders need to watch Payment Data Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:PYDS) this morning! Yesterday after the markets closed, the company issued a press release announcing the beginning of the distribution of Pronto Banco(tm) to over 7,000 outlets nationwide!
This is great news for investors! The Pronto Banco(tm) (the first card to utilize Payment Data Systems' new bill payment service for debit cards), is a new financial product designed with the Hispanic customer in mind. The alliance partners (Secure Cash Network, Inc. and GTS Prepaid, a leading distributor of prepaid telecom and financial service products) are expected to benefit from offering an innovative and affordable financial product to the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.
The Pronto Banco(tm) Twin Card Packet is an ATM/debit card system that allows the consumer to send one of two cards to a friend or relative in another country, providing access to funds from either card. Another value-added feature in the Pronto Banco(tm) packet is a prepaid Estafeta envelope allowing the primary cardholder the option of sending the second card to Mexico. Estafeta, Inc. is Mexico's leading and most reliable express shipping company with complete coverage of the Mexican territory. Consumers can use either card to access money via ATMs, or shop at millions of POS retail locations worldwide. Bill payment is being initially delivered with a pay by phone capability. The next major functional enhancement will be the ability to pay bills at the counter of Internet-enabled convenience stores. This functionality will be available to those stores within the next two months.
Investors need to watch this company! According to the press release, nearly 35 million Hispanics reside in the United States. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the U.S population. It is estimated that approximately 50% of Hispanics are unbanked and regularly send money home. In 2003, nearly $23 billion dollars were sent from the U.S. to Mexico, Central & South America. Sending funds using traditional methods like Western Union and Moneygram typically results in charges equal to or over 10% of the amount sent. Pronto Banco(tm) is normally less than half the price and expected to drive significant sales, profits and residual income for GTS retail partners.
"Pronto Banco(tm) provides great value and convenience to the unbanked, Hispanic consumer," said Greg Bloh, President and CEO of Secure Cash Network, Inc. "Our deployment with GTS Prepaid delivers Pronto Banco(tm) to markets with high concentrations of our primary consumer group who regularly visit convenience store locations seeking financial products and services."
"We are very enthusiastic about this initial delivery of the bill payment service for debit cards," said Louis Hoch, President and COO of Payment Data Systems, Inc. "We expect these first steps to be followed by adding many more distribution points throughout the United States over the next several months. We anticipate transactional volume to increase significantly as these new distribution points are implemented."
The stock closed yesterday at eighteen cents a share.
About the companies involved: Payment Data Systems, Inc., is an Integrated Payments Solution Provider delivering comprehensive, cost-effective solutions to billers and retailers for the processing and management of electronic payments via the Internet, point of sale, or payments taken by Customer Service Representatives or an Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
GTS Prepaid is a leading provider of prepaid products and services primarily targeted to the convenience store industry. The GTS Prepaid product line includes all major prepaid wireless carriers, several top selling regional carriers and GTS Prepaid's own Diamond Mobile, prepaid MasterCard/Visa, DuoCash, Gift cards, unlimited residential long distance, the GTS PhoneCard(tm), and a variety of demographically targeted phone cards, which can all be dispensed from their EIDC POSA terminal or activated through existing retail Point-of-Sale networks.
Secure Cash Network, Inc. (SCN) is a Consumer Products and Financial Services company specializing in Stored-Value ATM/Debit products for unbanked consumers. SCN offers several prepaid card products including Secure Cash Payday(tm) (Payroll Card), Pronto Banco(tm) and Paga Rapido(tm). These products are made available to consumers direct through employers and merchant locations throughout the United States.
Stocks showing interesting activity yesterday at the close of the regular trading day were: Ultra Petroleum Corp. (AMEX:UPL) up 5.9% on 1 million shares traded, VIVUS Inc. (Nasdaq:VVUS) up 17.9% on 1 million shares traded and Lipid Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:LIPD) up 14.4% on 746,200 shares traded.
Commentary: Cheap Thrills
"JetBlue has cut fall fares anywhere from $49-$89 one-way throughout the U.S. This low-cost carrier says its 'one million seats' sale is putting a lot of pressure on the major carriers. If you want to see the leaves change on the cheap, look into a cheap 'colorful' weekend get-a-way, but book early; as in any sale the 'early bird' gets the deal," stated Sonja Rudd in Wall Street News Alert's daily commentary continued at: http://www.WallStreetNewsAlert.com.
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