Boulder, Colorado March 14, 2005 - Smart Transaction Systems® (STS), a provider of stored-value card systems, including gift card and customer loyalty programs, announced today that its gift and loyalty programs are now compatible with the latest technology in smart cards. The new "contactless" smart cards, key tags, and "smart stickers" need only be passed in front of the card reader to complete the transaction. The stored-value or loyalty card does not even need to be handed over to the clerk. When used in combination with high-speed broadband transaction processing technology available from STS, contactless transactions are faster than any other type of transaction, including cash. "This is an ideal solution for any organization that wants to give their customers a very fast and convenient way to complete multiple types of stored-value card transaction, including gift and loyalty programs," said Ray Clopton, president of STS. "We're seeing a great deal of interest from organizations ranging from coffee shops to sporting venues and food service companies that run corporate and college cafeterias."

"STS is the first of the major gift and loyalty providers to offer contactless card technology. The new offering is compatible with the STS system that is already being used by thousands of merchants. This is an exciting innovation for the market place, and we have been looking forward to the release of this product with a great deal of anticipation," said Kevin Colaco of Paynet Transaction Services, an STS value added partner "We believe this product will be very successful in providing a solution for companies that need to serve a lot of customers at one time."

The cards can access both a cash value and a loyalty/reward point balance at the same time. STS has built contactless smart card capability into all of the core products and services that it offers. This includes VeriFone and Hypercom credit card terminals, as well as several PC-based and integrated POS solutions supported by STS. STS has taken an open-systems approach, and supports contactless readers from multiple manufacturers. STS customers may choose between the new contactless cards or traditional magnetic-strip cards. The two options are interchangeable within the STS system. For more information about the contactless card system, contact STS at 888-494-9760 or visit www.smart-transactions.com.

About Smart Transactions
Founded in 1998, Smart Transaction Systems provides card-based payment systems, customer loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) programs to a wide variety of companies throughout the United States. For small to medium-sized businesses, Smart Transaction Systems provides hosted gift card and loyalty programs that are reliable, easy to use, and affordable. For larger organizations, the company provides powerful transaction processing systems that allow these organizations to bring gift, loyalty, and private label credit card programs in-house so they can gain maximum control of these programs. Smart Transaction Systems has operations in Boulder, Colorado, Lodi Wisconsin and St. Louis, Missouri. For more information about Smart Transaction Systems, please visit www.smart-transactions.com or call 888-494-9760.