Utilising earthport’s technical toolkit, BT Ignite will look to build, host and support customers with eWallet systems for either Internet or WAP business delivery channels. Under the agreement, earthport will provide BT Ignite with marketing material and sales assistance.

Jane Vose, head of e-commerce products, BT Ignite, says: “BT Ignite is experiencing a healthy demand for eWallets in the payment services marketplace, and earthport has a first class capability that will enable us to meet this need head on.”

The deal has been welcomed at earthport, which only recently resumed trading on AIM with a new management team in place after concluding a last-ditch refinancing operation.

Rick Flood, COO of earthport, says: “We anticipate this agreement will generate significant revenues in the coming months.”





- Ends -



For further information, please contact:

Enquiries:

earthport plc

Peter Chappell Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 (0) 20 8987 1900
peter.chappell@earthport.com
Issued by:
Bankside Consultants Limited
Julian Bosdet / Henry Harrison-Topham henry.ht@bankside.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7444 4140


Notes to editors

About Earthport
earthport plc is a UK-based company that has developed a powerful, scalable and secure Internet payment infrastructure which links directly to the traditional banking system. earthport provides an Internet payment infrastructure to banks, telcos, portals and trade exchanges that allow these communities to move money via any Internet enabled device in any amount among themselves, and make payments out of the community into the real world through the banking system. It does this by securely linking earthport's secure transaction processing platform directly to the traditional banking system so that user's money never actually leaves the bank, until a secure message instructs payment out into the real world.
earthport is able to charge significantly lower fees than its competitors whose systems require the installation of software or rely solely on the credit card or debit card clearing systems, because the earthport model minimises the necessity to move funds physically for each transaction. The earthport payment infrastructure also facilitates electronic transactions with cash as it opens up e and m-commerce to users who are unable to obtain credit cards.
Website: www.earthport.com

About BT Ignite
BT Ignite - BT Group’s international solutions and broadband business - is a leading provider of communications services to business and wholesale customers around the world.

From e-commerce consultancy and solutions through to core networks and Internet connectivity, BT Ignite delivers across the entire IP value chain with a unique blend of content hosting, application service provision, systems integration and outsourcing capabilities.

BT Ignite has established a strong European footprint and controls its own infrastructure. It serves customers through local sales and service support teams, with 54,000 route kilometres of fibre connecting 275 cities and over 20 content hosting centres.

BT Ignite delivers worldwide services via its solutions operations and BT Global Business, in conjunction with other partners where required.
Further information is available at www.ignite.com