U.S. Bank to Launch Mobile Commerce for Major Retailers

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Oct 8, 2013) - U.S. Bank, lead bank of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and Monitise plc (LSE: MONI), a global leader in Mobile Money solutions, today announced an agreement to accelerate the delivery of an innovative product discovery and shopping service by U.S. Bank that provides an easier way for top-tier retailers to help consumers interact with and buy from leading brands via mobile.

U.S. Bank and Monitise will develop an advanced mobile shopping experience including product selection and instant checkout payment capabilities. Leveraging unique digital and audio watermarking and scanning technology for product discovery from Digimarc Corp. (NASDAQ: DMRC) and Nellymoser, a division of Gruner+Jahr, an initial pilot will integrate mobile action codes, mobile shopping and mobile payments to create a quick and easy way for consumers to discover, learn about, purchase, and share the products they want from their favorite brands.

Mobile is increasingly becoming the platform of choice for delivering innovative payments and commerce capabilities that financial institutions can leverage to maintain their competitive advantage in the constantly evolving financial services landscape. By reducing the time and friction associated with product discovery, simplifying the purchase checkout process, and helping retailers optimize their media budgets, U.S. Bank is playing a key role in connecting consumers to the brands they love and increasing the likelihood of sales, which is of significant value to retailers.

As part of its ongoing payments innovation research and development initiatives, U.S. Bank has been exploring new ways to simplify finding and buying products and services via interactive media for mobile handsets and tablets.

"Pursuing new opportunities to innovate and develop Mobile Money services with our partners that create real value for both our bank and our customers is a key focus for our business," says Dominic Venturo, Chief Innovation Officer for U.S. Bank Payment Services. "Technology is creating new ways to bank and buy, and U.S. Bank is committed to playing a leading role in the digital commerce revolution as money becomes more mobile."

Commenting on the collaboration, Lisa Stanton, President of Americas at Monitise, said: "As mobile technology accelerates the convergence between the offline and digital worlds of banking, payments and commerce, banks are identifying new revenue streams and driving value for both retailers and consumers. We are delighted to be working with U.S. Bank, a leading innovator in the US financial services sector. Financial institutions like U.S. Bank are perfectly positioned to create and curate new mobile payments and shopping services that excite and engage existing and new customers alike." 

About U.S. Bank
U.S. Bancorp, with $353 billion in assets as of June 30, 2013, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States. Celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, the company operates 3,087 banking offices in 25 states and 5,032 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

About Monitise
Monitise (LSE: MONI) is a world leader in Mobile Money -- banking, paying and buying with a mobile device. Leading banks, payments companies, retailers and mobile networks utilize Monitise's technology platforms and services to securely connect people with their money.

Already 24 million consumers benefit from our patented technology to 'bank anywhere', 'pay anyone' and 'buy anything' accounting for $50 billion of payments, purchases and transfers annually. More information is available at www.monitise.com.

About Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC), based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading innovator and provider of enabling technologies that create digital identities for all forms of media and many everyday objects. The embedded digital IDs are imperceptible to humans, but not to computers, networks and devices like mobile phones, which can now use cameras and microphones as sensory inputs to "see, hear and understand" the world around them within the context of their environment. Digimarc has built an extensive intellectual property portfolio with patents in digital watermarking, content identification and management, media and object discovery to enable ubiquitous computing, and related technologies. Digimarc develops solutions, licenses its intellectual property, and provides development services to business partners across a range of industries. For more information, visit www.digimarc.com.

About Nellymoser
Nellymoser (www.nellymoser.com), a mobile marketing and technology company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boston, creates mobile companion apps and cross-media campaigns. These campaigns are triggered using smartphones via multiple activation points placed in editorial content, advertisements, retail floor or product packaging. The result is instant multimedia, interactive and up-to-date content designed to deliver consumer engagement, foster brand loyalty and drive revenue for clients. Nellymoser's customers include leading retailers, brand advertisers and publishers. Nellymoser is a Gruner+Jahr Company.