"By adding mobile tap-and-go convenience and one-step enrollment to membership card programs in a very simple and cost-effective way, Taggo presents a very compelling value proposition to consumers and retailers: no more fat wallets," said Aneace Haddad, CEO and founder of Taggo. "Retailers want to expand program membership and use, but are frustrated by the tendency of existing customers to leave cards at home and the increasing difficulty of attracting new customers who don't want to be bothered filling out yet another form for another card. Using just the one Taggo sticker and their existing mobile phone, customers can quickly subscribe to as many membership programs as they want."

A recent report by researchers at Colloquy showed that each U.S. household has an average of 14.1 loyalty program memberships, but less than half - only 6.2 on average - are active. According to Haddad, the fundamental problem with membership programs today is that people don't want to carry around all those cards. As the loyalty industry worries about convincing consumers of the value of their programs, Haddad believes the solution to greater program use is putting all the cards on a mobile phone where customers will always have them.

Thanks to Taggo's platform-as-a-service model, companies that provide CRM systems and services can easily offer retailers the ability to add their card programs to the Taggo storefront, with little or no capital expenditure. Customers add a small PicoPass-based Taggo sticker to their mobile phone and join programs through a simple SMS text message or by browsing the my-Taggo website (www.my-taggo.com), and all the enrollment details are automatically sent to the retailer as if the customer had filled out an enrollment form. Customers tap their phones at the point of sale to enjoy the same benefits as presenting a plastic card.

CRM suppliers integrate Taggo as Value Added Resellers (VARs). Taggo's first VARs currently serve retailers across the region, in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

"Taggo is taking a unique approach to the market, one with huge upside potential for INSIDE as Taggo continues to enlist more VARs in more regions of the world, and we look forward to working with Taggo on their infrastructure needs as they seek to expand their system globally," said Goh Say Yeow, executive vice president sales and managing director, Asia for INSIDE Contactless. "Aneace Haddad is a pioneer of the smartcard industry and an innovator with a remarkable track record, and we are excited to be working with him on his latest venture."

The initial Taggo deployment is expected to begin in Singapore in time for the holiday shopping season, with full rollout of the service scheduled for early next year.