Elephant Talk subsidiary ValidSoft joins Electronic Transactions Association Mobile Payments Committee

LONDON, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ValidSoft (www.validsoft.com), a global supplier of advanced telecommunications-based fraud prevention, authentication and transaction verification solutions, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETAK), today announced that it has joined the newly-formed Electronic Transactions Association Mobile Payments Committee.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/MM75492LOGO)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/MM75872LOGO)

ValidSoft joins some of the biggest players in the mobile payment sector, including the four US mobile carriers, as well as Google, Isis, VeriFone and Intuit, as part of the new Mobile Payments Committee, which was established in August 2012 by the Electronic Transactions Association.

The aim of the Committee is to bring together companies active in the mobile payments ecosystem and tackle the complex business and policy issues around mobile payments and e-commerce transactions. Security and privacy are two key issues which are up for discussion, and the Mobile Payments Committee provides an excellent forum for ValidSoft to contribute and to lead the market in these key areas.

Increasing multi-channel mobile payment offerings is great news for consumers, financial institutions and businesses, but they also offer criminals and fraudsters new opportunities, as is shown by recent statistics highlighting an increase in card-present and card-not-present fraud.

Pat Carroll, CEO of ValidSoft, says, "As the Mobile Payments Committee convenes, security will be one of the central issues up for discussion, and ValidSoft is pleased to be playing a leading role in this area. An approach to security that works in line with customer expectations, but that also mitigates the risks of fraud is needed. As we demonstrated with our SMART® platform (Secure Mobile Architecture for Real-time Transactions) at FinovateFall2012 recently, a mobile-based, multi-factor approach is most effective, and this should combine both visible and invisible layers of security applied in real-time."

Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transaction Association, says: "We and our members are delighted to welcome ValidSoft to the Mobile Payments Committee. We look forward to working with ValidSoft and all the other global companies participating in this important effort to promote an efficient, reliable and – above all – secure mobile payments ecosystem."

ValidSoft Limited has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk since early 2010 and underpins our mobile/cloud security offering. The company is a market leader in providing solutions to counter electronic fraud relating to a variety of bank, card, internet and telephone channels. ValidSoft's solutions are used to verify the authenticity of both parties to a transaction (Mutual Authentication), the security of the relevant telecommunication channel used (Secure Communications), and the integrity of transactions itself (Transaction Verification) for the mass market, in a highly cost effective and secure manner while being very easy to use.

The company counts several leading worldwide service providers and institutions amongst its customers. These companies benefit from a very substantial reduction in false positives, thereby freeing up resources to combat actual fraud, as well as a substantial elimination of the fraud itself, all in real time. ValidSoft is the only security software company in the world that has been granted two European Privacy Seals. Visit www.validsoft.com.

Elephant Talk Communications, Corp. (NYSE: ETAK), formerly (NYSE Amex: ETAK) is a leading international provider of mobile networking software and services. The Company's mission is to provide a single service, fully enabling and securing the mobile cloud.

Elephant Talk empowers Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) by providing a cloud based mobile communications infrastructure, operating software and managed services, based mostly on company developed and owned software. We enable these Mobile Operators and Virtual Network Operators by offering a full suite of products, delivery platforms, support services, superior industry expertise and high quality customer service without substantial upfront investment.

As a specialized outsourcing partner, we provide operating software, managed services, cloud and SaaS solutions, an integrated transaction and delivery platform to the mobile telecommunications industry globally. Our products include remote health care, credit card fraud prevention, mobile internet ID security, secure remote file access management, loyalty and transaction management services and a whole range of other emerging mobile services. Elephant Talk can count several of the world's leading Mobile Operators amongst their customers including Vodafone, T-Mobile and Zain, and virtually all business is focused on tier 1 operators worldwide. Visit www.elephanttalk.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Company's plans and objectives, projections, expectations and intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Because such statements involve risks and uncertainties, the actual results and performance of the Company may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by law, the Company also disclaims any obligation to update its view of any such risks or uncertainties or to announce publicly the result of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made here. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), copies of which are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company.

Media Contacts

PR Teams
UK: Fishburn Hedges [phone]
[e-mail]

US: Intermarket Communications [phone]
[e-mail]

Investor relations:
Steve Gersten
Elephant Talk Communications Corp.
+ 1 813 926 8920 [e-mail]

SOURCE ValidSoft