Zeus Research Teams with STi Prepaid to Launch
Innovative Payment Platform for Virtual Goods
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February 9,
2010 – Zeus Research LLC (www.zeusresearch.com) today announced its exclusive relationship with STi
Prepaid LLC to instantly enable STi’s prepaid calling cards to be used as a payment
system for the purchase of virtual goods.
STi sells over 200 million cards annually from over 200,000 US retail
outlets, providing a massive increase in distribution for Zeus’ online
entertainment partners.
Virtual goods purchases are rapidly
expanding in the United States, with Think Equity Analyst Atul Bagga recently
projecting that the market could double to $2 Billion in 2010. However, a major issue holding back the
market continues to be the lack of alternative payment options for those users
who don’t have credit cards or who aren’t comfortable using them online. Prepaid game cards are growing as an
alternative way to convert cash to credit, but the sector is limited by a lack
of retail shelf space and the work needed to roll out cards to each retailer,
especially for the rapidly increasing number of online games and worlds.
Rather than roll out a new prepaid
card system retailer by retailer, the Zeus patent-pending system converts
existing STi Prepaid Phone Cards into virtual goods payment cards that can then
be used across a wide range of online entertainment. With over 200 million STi phone cards already
sold each year from over 200,000 retail outlets, this approach immediately brings
a powerful complement to the other alternative payment options in the
marketplace.
"Having seen the issues and
opportunities in virtual currency first hand, we spent the year building a
service which would be simple for a player to use, quick for a publisher to
integrate, and which would provide a massive and instant increase in retail
outlets to complement the current payment options” said Sean Ryan, founder of Zeus
Research. "By partnering with leading prepaid calling card company STi Prepaid,
we open up an entirely new set of local retail outlets for virtual currency card
purchases, which will drive this exciting sector even higher.”
Jeanne Hilley, STI Vice President of
Marketing said “At STi we see the relationship
with Zeus as an exciting new way to leverage our existing prepaid card
distribution strength and world class billing system to help create a leading
alternative payment system in the fast-growing virtual goods economy.”
Zeus’ payment system is designed to be
easy, fast and secure. There is no need
to register or log-in at a site – just click the STi logo within the virtual
game or world, fill in the 2 numbers from the back of the STi card, and click Enter.
The Zeus API makes it simple for online publishers of any size to begin
accepting payments from their users who lack credit cards and other online payment
methods, giving publishers a new revenue stream from their current users.
Zeus will launch the STi Prepaid
Card service online in Q1, 2010 and will be announcing a series of partners to
widely distribute the service.
About Zeus Research LLC
San Francisco-based Zeus Research focuses
on creating alternative payment systems for purchasing virtual goods. The company is founded by Sean Ryan, who
previously co-founded virtual goods platform TwoFish (now part of Live Gamer)
and leading teenage virtual world Meez. For more information, visit www.zeusresearch.com.
About STi Prepaid LLC.
STi Prepaid is a long-established
name that is recognized nationally and is ranked among the top international
terminating carriers in the world. The brand has deeply penetrated the consumer
mindset due to availability in high-traffic retail locations, such as
convenience stores, discount clubs, grocery stores, drug stores/pharmacies, and
newsstands.
STi built its reputation on
outstanding phone card products and service. Known for clear connections and
excellent service, exceptional value and world class support, customers showed
extraordinary loyalty to STi Prepaid and made it one of the top phone card
sellers in the U.S., with sales in excess of 200 million cards per year. For more information, visit www.stiprepaid.com .
Contact:
Zeus Press Relations
press@zeusresearch.com
415-385-0819
