Navigating Change....
The PELORUS Group
Market Research and Consulting Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:     January 5, 2004
Contact: Greggory S. Blundell
Phone:  908-707-1121
Fax:     908-707-1135

LUMINARIES JOIN SPECIAL PELORUS GROUP STORED VALUE FORUM

Raritan, NJ -- On March 2 and 3, 2004, The PELORUS Group will host a special conference dedicated to exploring how emerging stored value initiatives will impact prepaid debit card and credit card offerings, and what credit card issuers, financial institutions, banks, carriers and platform providers should be planning for over the next critical months. Entitled “Stored Value: Challenging The Credit Card Paradigm”, this exclusive conference will convene at the world-renowned Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel, in New Orleans, LA.  Leading organizations from around the world will be joining The PELORUS Group, early Sponsors Array Services Group, The Nilson Report and CardWeb, and an unprecedented array of industry luminaries that include Tom Miezejeski, The PELORUS Group; Karen Budahazy, Givex; Randy Cherkas, GTS Prepaid; Ted Dargan, MasterCard; Keith Dively, Western Union; Doug Fieldhouse, Vesta; Karen Larsen, ValueLink; Jeffrey Lippe, Chockstone; Victor Nappe, DuoCash; Gary Palmer, WildCard Systems; and Bill Winkelman, formerly of Starbucks.  

Among the issues to be addressed:

• The migration to stored value solutions is intensifying.  How are key organizations currently deploying stored value initiatives?  What is the outlook for 2004, 2005 and beyond?

• What is the import of stored value to prepaid telecom vendors, retailers, the financial industry, and companies that currently serve the unbanked and credit challenged?

• What impact will stored value have on the overall credit card industry?  How will banking institutions be effected?

• In which consumer market segments is stored value registering its greatest penetration, and why?  How is that likely to change over the next critical 24 months?

• How can stored value benefit the corporate market?  Which segments are realizing the most significant benefits?

• Prepaid telephony may ultimately prove to be one of the biggest implementators – and beneficiaries – of stored value.  How can prepaid wireless improve a carrier’s ability to offer stored value solutions?

• What is happening on the technology, standards, and regulatory/legal fronts?

This is not a trade show.  It is a special event dedicated to sharing the vision of stored value, and realizing the opportunities springing from current and future initiatives. This exclusive two-day conference has been structured to provide the most intensive information flow possible.  Only this forum offers data tailored specifically, and solely, for organizations examining stored value opportunities.