ROSH PINA, ISRAEL--(Marketwired - Mar 16, 2016) - On Track Innovations Ltd. (oti) (NASDAQ: OTIV), a global provider of Near Field Communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions, and its strategic partner, Billing System Corporation (TSE: 3623), a leading payment service provider, demonstrated prototypes of their jointly developed NFC-based cashless payments solutions for the Japanese market at the RETAILTECH JAPAN trade show which took place March 8-11 in Tokyo, Japan.
Billing System selected oti as its exclusive NFC solution provider in June 2015. The companies are actively developing and certifying Felica-compatible NFC-based cashless payment readers and devices for the Japanese unattended market.
Nearly 20 million foreign travelers visit Japan annually, which is expected to increase in the coming years with the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. However, Japan's current cashless payment settlement infrastructure, Felica, is unique to the domestic market and not compatible with international NFC services. The incompatibility has become a problem for foreign travelers as more consumers are transacting with credit cards utilizing NFC technology and mobile phone payment schemes like Apple Pay™ and Android Pay™. These settlement services are based on international standards and provide high security, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.
"With more than 5.5 million vending machines nationwide, the Japanese market represents one of the largest opportunities globally for cashless payment solutions," said Toshihiko Eda, CEO of Billing System. "NFC has clearly emerged as the technology of choice for all the major payment schemes, and with no NFC infrastructure currently deployed in Japan, now is the perfect time to enter the market with our Felica-compatible and certified product offering."
oti and Billing System are currently co-marketing prototype products to Japan's vending machine operators, manufacturers and ATM companies, and expect to introduce a full suite of products to the market by the third quarter of 2016.
"The positive response to our new products at RETAILTECH JAPAN reaffirms our belief that Japan will be a major market for us in the years to come," said oti CEO Shlomi Cohen. "In fact, we are in advanced discussions with several leading Japanese companies who have expressed interest in adopting our technology. Based on this increasing interest and our expanding sales pipeline, we expect to secure at least one major new Japanese reader customer by year-end."
About Billing System Corporation
Billing System Corporation provides total settlement and processing service in Japan including services related to payment gateway, mobile payment, remittance, billing, reconciliation, bank debit and finance.
About oti
On Track Innovations Ltd. (oti) is a leader in contactless and NFC applications based on its extensive patent and IP portfolio. oti's field-proven innovations have been deployed around the world to address NFC and other cashless payment solutions, petroleum payment and management, cashless parking fee collection systems and mass transit ticketing. oti markets and supports its solutions through a global network of regional offices and alliances. For more information, visit www.otiglobal.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Whenever we use words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss our expectations regarding our growth or profitability, reduction of costs and expenses, expected divestitures, plans for our existing and new products and services, penetration of new markets and securing new customers, contributions of our regions to our growth, resolution of our outstanding patent infringement claims, strengthening of our balance sheet and delivery long-term shareholder value. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on oti's current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of oti could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. Forward-looking statements could be impacted by the effects of the protracted evaluation and validation periods in the U.S. and other markets for contactless payment cards, or new and existing products and our ability to execute production on orders, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be achieved. Except as otherwise required by law, oti disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.