Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Reminds me of Orwell's 1984
If the Government says it, it must be true......
Someone in the the OTC Marketplace seems to be mistaken or misinformed with the latest bit of fluff.
"OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces, today announced SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME) is verified for trading on OTCQB®, the venture marketplace for entrepreneurial and development stage companies, effective November 19, 2014. "
Funnily enough, according to previous press releases from SMME we have been on the OTC QB since at least January this year when they put out this press release:
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 7, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME), a developer of patented biometric products, announced today that an expert witness has provided key evidence in support of the Company's patent infringement suit against Visa, Inc. and MasterCard International. The Company recently announced it has submitted a brief to the United States Federal Circuit Court for its $13.4 billion claim for damages and pre-paid royalties. The bolding is mine.
I couldn't be bothered going back any further to see just when we have been listing ourselves as OTCQB:SMME on our press releases, this seemed to be far enough to highlight the point.
Now this bit of fluff came from the OTC mob, not from SMME. It will be interesting to see what comments they (OTC & SMME) will have about the apparently wrong PR. I have sent both Saskia and Chaya an email requesting some light be shed on the topic.
OBP
It is the middle of November.
But when I bough my last parcel of shares back in January I was advised it was just weeks away and we would have funding. I shouldn't have been surprised when it didn't occur then as I was told the same thing twelve months before that as well. Neither of them occurred.
Pardon me if I am not fully confident that the mid November deadline will be met either. But even if I am not optomistic I am still hopeful.
OBP.
I can't be bothered chasing accurate figures but............
The cards the banks currently use are not made for free. If we assume that they cost $25.00 each to produce then the cost of handing out non SMME cards is $12.5 billion per annum based on the OP's figures.
Yes, according to the figures originally posted there is still an additional cost if the banks go to SMME of $12.5 billion over the cost of non SMME cards. And yes, that additional cost is still more than the $11 billion the banks are purported to be losing in fraud. But we are now down to $1 billion in difference between the cost of switching to SMME cards and the value of fraud to the banks.
Now the above are rubbery figures. I have run with the OP's figures for card issuance and fraud figures which he has apparently taken off one of our "Press Releases" which may or may not be 100% accurate. My figure of $25.00 for a non SMME card is purely an estimate and may be up or down from the actual. End result is a minimal increase/saving if the banks go to SMME cards depending on the vagaries of the figures above. That's not a consequential difference anymore.
What the OP's argument doesn't allow for is that the banks are not the only ones in the equation and their actions are going to be driven by their customers.
Yes, the banks issue the cards, but Visa, Master, and all the banks are in competition with one another to get the consumers business. If one of them comes out with a card that is markedly safer for the consumer and markets it as such then consumers will switch to the bank with the better card, and the other banks will be forced to follow or lose business.
OBP.
N&B, I hope that you are correct.
My only point was that as presentations go that it was less than inspiring and that there is room for Chaya to let go of the reins and delegate more to people better suited to certain tasks.
Some people just shouldn't try to sell...
While I disagree with Glenc in regard too people not being fooled I would say that it could have gone better.
One of the main issues that I have with SMME is that it is a one woman band. While I believe that Chaya has done a good job in the design of the card and keyring, there are some things she should delegate to others.
Up until a few months ago the press releases were filled with spelling and grammar mistakes. While they are not that much better now content wise, at least it appears that someone else is proof reading them and correcting the errors.
I would say the same goes for the presentation of the card at the conference. A good designer but does she grab the attention of an audience and make them want to come up and talk to her. I have a bucket-load of shares and I couldn't be bothered watching it to the end, if I had been there I would have shutdown or walked off midway through.
If you want results hire people who are good at what they do. A professional to write press releases, a salesman to do this sort of presentation at the Conference and so on and then let them do what they do well.
OBP
More fluff
According to a Gallup poll, 69 percent of respondents stated that they worry about having credit information stolen by hackers. Just 31 percent said they worry about getting mugged while 18 percent frequently or occasionally worry about getting murdered.
None of this relates to the SMME card, or the MKR, or anything else to do the with SMME. The SMME card will stop unauthorised persons from using your card but once your numbers are with Target, Home Depot, Michaels Stores or Chase Bank they can still be downloaded and stolen by hackers and then used online. Attempting to link the SMME card with this Gallup poll is simply misinformation at it's worst.
We are better off giving no information at all than regurgitating the same dross on a twice weekly basis.
Better yet, why don't we release real information OFFICIALLY that investors have been begging for, or even something that will boost confidence in a real way. Maybe some footage of a card being demonstarted in the real world or something similar.
OBP.
Regarding the CEOs comments on Press Releases.
The CEO suggests she "would suggest that any person wanting information to read our media releases" and that the Company uses "media releases to update the investment community of anything that could or would be deemed "material information" in the regulatory sense."
The Law Dictionary defines "Material Information" as "any company or product information that is likely to change a security's perceived value. Common examples of material information are: bankruptcy filings, board of directors (BOD) change, corporate officers or public accounting firm change, company's fiscal year change, and financial statement revisions. "
As an investor in the Company I do read each and every Press Release and I have yet to see any information on them that is anywhere near the definition of "Material Information" or which answers any of the questions raised by shareholders on this board, even if the questions raised would not be of a "commercial in confidence" nature.
What the Press Releases do contain seems to be a continuous list of statistics, surveys and studies from other organisations and claims about future production or development claims that generally bear little in common with what actually occurs and have no real "information" in them at all.
Reading of the Press Releases will not answer any of an investors questions and they never have been designed to do that. Furthermore contacting Erastar, Constellation or whatever they are called this week is equally futile.
OBP
So what does production mean?
Given that we are soon to go into production it's worth asking what the company means by "production". A recent press release from the Company states we will be using a company "who has the capacity to produce 250,000 cards per week" and goes on to state this supplier "is also able to ramp up its production capacity to provide for a 1 million cards per week production capacity. This will be required to meet SmartMetric's target of 50 million fingerprint cards over the next 12 to 18 months."
When the MKR was produced and sold we all got excited and expected real sales and real volume based on the Company's press releases such as the ones shown here , here and here. Later press releases went on to advise that the release wasn't supposed to be for real marketing and sales but was only "a limited release of the MedicalKeyring". This came as a surprise to many, myself included, as we had expected based on the numerous press releases a release of product that was to be ongoing and of merchantable quantities that would generate real and continuing sales and income.
Will the "production" of the card that the Company is touting be real volume and sales of commercial quantities as implied by the statement "..... to produce 250,000 cards per week" or the forecasted target of "50 million fingerprint cards over the next 12 to 18 months" or is it going to be just another "limited release" with negligible volume?
Maybe someone above can let us know some accurate and factual figures of the production of the cards.
While they are at it they may be able to shed some light on the current status of the MKR and give us some details of how many have been sold and where and how they are currently being marketed as well as details of fundraising that will enable production of the cards to proceed.
I appreciate that this is not the current venue as has been stated by the CEO for these statements but will keep an eye out for a press release with our questions answered.
OBP
I didn't think that they could appeal again
Just did a Google of rehearing en banc though and apparently they can. Although it says that they may not be successful in having it heard.
OBP
Regarding posts 5445, 5447 & 5443.
The address that is listed for SMME "3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 500 Las Vegas, Nevada, 89169", is a virtual office. It is part of the Regus Group and details of it's services can be found here.
For a company such as Smartmetric a virtual office is a practical investment as it allows Executives to utilise the facilities when they are in that city, have the phones answered in a professional manner with calls being transferred to them as required. This is able to be done without having the expense of a dedicated suite of offices and the ongoing cost of staff associated with that office.
While "simple research" is OK, proper research shows that as well as Smartmetric many other companies use this service including Executive Realty Services, New Dimensions, Global XTS and the Fine Point Group.
All these companies are at the same physical address as Smartmetric and there are many others that use the same service and have the same physical address as well, I just can't be bothered listing them at the moment. That probably explains why they are not on the the Clark County database as they are not leasing an office, only a service and use of facilities as required.
With regard to product, there was a trial of the MKR. The adverts were heard by millions (and can still be listened to by clicking the link on the IHub SMME page) and the products were sold and there are reports on other websites from people who have purchased them.
OBP
Timetable of changes
Timetable of changes is available here.
OBP
LMU, this may or may not help.
The IHub handbook is available here if you want to look at it, it may give you some ideas about what you may have done to upset someone and why you have had posts deleted.
A while ago I had several posts deleted and I took the time to look at the rules of the game. (BTW this comment is cause to have this post deleted as it refers to a deleted post, one of the rules). The issue is that some people will use these rules often and well to have posts removed and if you aren't aware of them you will be left not knowing why.
Some of the things you should be aware of:
If there is a post from JohnBoy and you have an issue with it you can quote from the post in your reply but as soon as you say JohnBoys name it may be classed as a "Personal Attack". This gets to be really complicated if the person you are speaking of has a link to the Company or it's affairs.
One issue is if you happen to be posting on the board about LittleWilly. LittleWilly is the CEO of XYZ Corp so any comment about the CEO of XYZ Corp may be viewed as an attack on LittleWilly personally as he is a poster on the board as well as CEO.
I can speak of the XYZ Corp lawsuit as that is on topic, but if I speak of another lawsuit which involves a poster on the board then that is apparently off limits although I can't remember what rule I was quoted, it may have been Personal Attack or possibly Violation of Privacy.
This one may be the one that is causing an issue as if a poster was being sued for actions that they had performed on IHub then they, the plaintiff or IHub may be monitoring the board for any issues that may complicate matters.
Additionally, any post that does not specifically relate to the Companies business may also be off topic such as get togethers when we all become rich.
Any poster can request a post be yanked for any of the issues listed on the handbook, even if the issue does not specifically relate to them. While most members are not aware of the rules the game players are and the moderators are stuck with the rules as they are written.
OBP.
"Press Releases" or the lack of
I cannot find the post now but I believe it may have been LMU who posted it. There was a comment that there do not seem to have been any press releases for a while and they were concerned about why they had not been appearing.
The press releases are still occurring, but they are no longer on IHub. If you wish to read them they can be found here on Yahoo.
If anything they appear to be coming out even more quickly than they ever have before with six over the last week.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014 Why the Switch to EMV Chip Cards by Itself Will Not Solve the Multi Billion Dollar Fraud Loses in the United States -- SmartMetric Says Biometrics Inside the Payments Card Will Close the Gap on Fraud
Saturday, 16 August 2014 SmartMetric, the Developer of the World's First Biometric Fingerprint Activated EMV Payment Card Says the Market for Its EMV Biometric Protected Payments Cards Has Grown From 1.6 Billion Cards a Year Ago to Over 2 Billion Cards Today, Worldwide
Friday, 15 August 2014 SmartMetric Has Embeded a Poweful Cortex Processor Into It's Fingerprint Activated Card for Biometric Controlled Credit, Debit and Identity Cards
Thursday, 14 August 2014 The Federal Circuit Court Has Ruled Denying SmartMetric's Motions in Its Patent Infringement Case Against Visa Inc. and MasterCard International -- SmartMetric Will Continue With Its Focus on Its Biometric Card Technology as It Moves Forward
Wednesday, 13 August 2014 SmartMetric Fingerprint Activated EMV Chip Payment Card Designed to Protect Consumers Against Identity Theft and Banks and Merchants Against Payment Card
Tuesday, 12 August 2014 SmartMetric Fingerprint Activated EMV Payments Cards to Be Mass Produced by a Contract Card Manufacturer With a 250,000 Card Production Capacity per week
One thing I have noticed is that Constellation used to be the PR company and Jans Daalsgard was the President, then it went to Erastar, still with Daalsgard as the President, then just to Erastar with no company contact person listed. It was at this time that the press releases started thinning out on IHub and then eventually disappeared from this venue. The most recent press release makes no mention at all of Erastar or any other PR firm but is simply signed off by Chaya. This would appear to indicate that Constellation/Erastar may no longer be linked with SMME. There was a rather short experiment last year when we were using another PR firm ,Olmsted Williams Communications and we may be going elsewhere again.
This may be why the press releases have narrowed to not include IHub. There may have been an arrangement between Constellation/Erastar with IHub that Chaya doesn't share or possible just due to time constraints on her part.
Still OBP, just having to learn to be even more Patient.........
It may be time for Chaya to share
While I appreciate Chaya may want to be in charge of the whole box and dice and be in control of all aspects of the company and card manufacture it may be necessary for her to revisit her options.
To set up a manufacturing plant and have the materials on hand to enable production to occur costs dollars and lots of them. So far attempts to raise capital have fallen far short of what is needed. Yes she would get to be in charge and yes we would get to pocket all the profits but if we can't afford to turn out product all we will get is 100% of nothing.
If we have the technology to make the biometric card but can't afford to do it ourselves we may need to outsource and simply take a commission when someone else produces the card using our tech. While it is less dollars per card produced for us at least it is income till we are in a position where we don't need outside funding.
I hope that I am reading the last few press releases properly as it sounds as though this is the way she may be heading.
OBP.
Still OBP.
I am still optomistic about everything.
Another long term investor and I listened to the Court recording together and we were astounded that any Solicitor couldn't manage to get the correct location. As it went on there were times we rewound to listen to points again as we weren't fully sure where it was going.
At the end it was a case of the first half of Brights arguments were a worry, Melniks seemed to be even less meaningful and our final bit was OK.
My friend thought to listen to other cases to see if this depth of querying and challenging by the Judges was normal or if we were getting special consideration. It appears it is not unusual for them to take this tack with all who appear before them.
I know nothing about law so I don't know if we are out of the game with Visa et all so I remain hopeful. But as I said previously if Visa aren't in breach then someone is. We just have to work out who.
Still optimistic about the cards as I believe the biometric card is still the best idea in a long time with a myriad of uses. Bouyed by the press release citing impending contracts but concerned that this is one of the many press releases saying the same thing. The boy who cried wolf springs to mind.
Overall, a little concerned and deflated but we are still in the game. I wanted to be rich last week and it didn't happen. A friend that I put onto smme asked me when I thought "it" would happen and I told her Xmas of 2014, I was probably optomistic hoping for last Friday and should have listened to my own comments. I am now hoping by Xmas.
The one thing that is disappointing is the lack of real communication from above. I have dropped a bucket of cash into smme already. If given real information I may possibly invest more. But if all I get fed is poorly written, repetitive press releases it not going to happen and I am sure there are others in the same boat.
Still OBP.
Can we have some details?
Where was it at, when, did you get to handle it and try it and if so how did it go?
Some thoughts in no particular order..........
The appeal is being heard in less than a fortnight and I am optomistic that it will be a positive outcome, I really am.
But for those that are concerned lets assume it is not. Even if that occurs the Court has still decided that there is a breach, just that it is not Visa and Master who have breached the 464. This means that the people who have made the cards to this date have breached the 464, they will also be continuing to breach the 464 if they continue to make them after this date. Additionally, by using the technology that makes the cards work (contact use of the card into the system) Visa and Master will be breaching the 464 also if they continue to use the technology into the future.
While the dollars that would be the subject of litigation would be smaller, there will be less of an issue if the Company goes down this path as the 464 has now been held by the Court to be valid.
Think about how many cards are posted out each week in the US. They have all now been shown to be in breach of the Patent. They will be worth dollars to us.
Then there are the other smaller companies who will be open to litigation as they also use this technology.
>>Your Foxtel box has a chipped card in it that is used to identify the users account and make the box work.
>>Rydges loyalty cards are chipped cards.
>>A lot of public libraries use the same technology
And there will be hundreds if not thousands of examples more.
With regard to the fact that the card has yet to put "out there". Think about the pull that Visa and Master have. It is not in their interests to have SMME sell cards and be seen to be a real entity with a good product. I have no doubt that they are encouraging all and sundry to steer clear of us which would be making Chayas job of selling product that much harder.
No, the cards haven't been seen yet, but they are there and as soon as the Court case is over I am sure we will see them simply as they are a far better product than is out now.
OBP.
We all wish we knew
The $13.4 billion that is being asked for is calculated at 25% of the savings that Visa and Master have made over the past few years from reduced fraud.
This doesn't allow for royalties for the future which will be on top of the 13.4 billion (or whatever we happen to get.)
An out of Court settlement would be nice though, a settlement at the last minute on the Courthouse steps.
OBP.
It's almost over
It went to Court late last year and the Judge found there is a patent and it was breached, but not by Visa and Master as they didn't make the cards.
We have appealed and it is now at the Court of Appeal. They do not hear new argument but review the legal argument that have been already made. It shouldn't take more than a few days.
Our side believes that even though Visa and Master did not make the cards, that they are responsible for the production of the cards. This is supported by the testimony of their own expert witnesses who have stated that the cards are made and used in a manner that is precisely specified by Visa and Master. Our claims are also based upon the facts that Visa and Master make more profit out of the card than the manufacturer of the card.
If the Court of Appeal finds there is a breach then Visa and Master cannot appeal that decision, only the dollar value of the settlement and this is done via a jury trial.
Given that Visa and Master aren't popular this may go very badly if they went that way as the jury could award more than we have asked for. The other negative is that Visa and Master won't want a lot of the info about them made public in a Jury trial.
OBP.
Mentions of Smartmetric on the net
The Motley Fool mentions SMME in it's article of June 30.
"Visa climbed nearly 1% as shareholders essentially ignored a patent-infringement case that a small company called SmartMetric filed against the company and its primary credit card network rival. The suit alleges that the EMV-chip cards that are becoming more common in the U.S. credit card market include intellectual property owned by SmartMetric, which is seeking billions in damages from Visa. "
For those that have not heard of the Motley Fool it is a popular and well regarded site that picks stocks to follow (with they claim a fairly consistent average of winners).
Also, we are listed on the August calendar for the Court of Appeals. Interestingly there is no mention of Visa on the calendar.
Thanks Ranger for the mention of the double eight in the date, I had completely missed the fact. Although I'm not superstitious I hope it bodes well.
OBP.
The 464 patent
The patent applies only to the US. It is also limited in that it only applies to "contact" transactions where the card is inserted into the machine.
It does make it complicated when you consider that transactions made elsewhere in the world may be routed through a US based server, or that cards issued in the US will be used out of country and cards from teh rest of the world may at one stage be used in the US.
Also to liven up things later on there are other cards that contain a chip and are inserted into a reader to make a connection to a network. These may include Foxtel cards to activate their boxes, hotel or other loyalty cards (my Rydges card is like this) library cards and probably dozens (or hundreds) more.
OBP.
Why the sticky post?
I believed sticky posts were for noteworthy items or items that would be of interest to a new reader, basic knowledge about the Company or a summary of the issues or maybe new and relevant information.
Post 5005 is a posting of one of the many "press releases" that SMME has done to-date and is available an inch higher up on the page in its original form. In neither post is the information new or noteworthy but simply a rehash of dozens of previous "press releases".
Why not save a sticky for when SMME actually do something rather than promise, plan, expect, anticipate or simply quote a statistic from some other company.
If the mods sticky every piece of fluff from SMME we will very quickly have half of the front page taken up with copies of spurious press releases as SMME seem to release them at the rate of one a week.
Better yet, why doesn't SMME save the "press releases" for when they actually achieve something or release product? I would be a lot closer to selling up and being rich if each "press release" with a promise or a statistic added ten cents to the share price. I figure we would be at ten or more dollars by now if that were the case. But like the old saying if wishes were fishes wishing does me no good at all. At least we managed to get this "press release" out with no spelling mistakes.
OBP
A free spelling & grammar lesson
I have taken the liberty of correcting the last press release for spelling and grammar. Details as follows:
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 1, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME), SmartMetric (Should have included a comma at this point) a developer of in-card biometric identity solutions has developed an in-card fingerprint reader that scans a credit, debit or ATM card holders fingerprint that then turns ON (While grammatically correct a more accurate phrase would have been "activates the card". As the card is a microcomputer it is always "ON". Furthermore, capitals for the word "on" is unwarranted.) the payment cards (Should be card's) EMV chip prior to entering pin numbers at a retail checkout or ATM.
The introduction of a biometric fingerprint scanner inside an EMV chip card and using the person's unique fingerprint to activate the payments (superfluous, and if included should have been "payment card") card affords an unparalled (Did you mean unparalleled?) level of security. Even if a person's PIN number has been hacked the card will not function without first off (Superfluous) all the (Poorly worded, a better phrase would have been "the entire") user's fingerprint being matched with their fingerprint stored inside the card. And in order to protect the card user's privacy, their fingerprint is stored inside the card and NOT (Once again, capitalisation is not warranted) on a remote server. The user's fingerprint never leaves the card.
SmartMetric has designed its biometric solution using the new EMV chip card standard and the card is fully interoperative with existing EMV chip card readers at retail checkouts and ATM's. According to EMV co., there are in excess of 1.6 billion EMV chip cards in use by Banks around the world. Both Visa and MasterCard have initiated a roadmap for deployment of EMV cards in the United States with many millions of these chip cards already issued in the USA. The recent Target card holder information breach has speed (Sped up would have been correct) up the adoption of EMV in the United States with the changeover of card readers and ATM's throughout the country well underway.
SmartMetric is moving forward with contract production partners for high volume manufacturing capacity while at the same time focusing its sales and marketing effort on existing EMV chip card issuing Banks around the world. Using contract manufacturing relationships will allow the company to upscale high volume production while conserving substantial capital outlays saving both time to market and capital expenditure according to the company President & CEO, Chaya Hendrick.
For a teenager doing a presentation as part of a business studies course these errors would have lost marks.
For a company to produce this standard of "Press Release" and expect it to inspire confidence and optimism for shareholders and investors is laughable.
If this drivel came from the CEO's office she should look at replacing her secretary. If it came from Redwood, Constellation or EraStar (who knows what they are called from week to week) perhaps SMME should look at a new relations company.
But either way, it's not a press release, just more fluff.
OBP.
What news?
News by definition is something that is new and exciting, not something that has been repeated at least two dozen times before with each previous press claim failing to be substantiated.
News would be a definite date, the sales figures from the MKR or something else that is real and relevent. This is just more fluff.
Maybe when they do a real press release and it contains real news they will actually have it proof read.
SmartMetric did a trial release late last year of its MedicalKeyring devise and will relaunch after rekease of the card
Seriously, which one of the three stooges have these people got doing this stuff?
OBP.
PS I mean no offence to the three stooges.
The thing is it's so easy to fix
OK, we are unhappy with the lack of progress and the fact that we appear to be no further ahead than we were one, two or five years ago. Yes, we are told that we are making progress and that there is product (cards) soon to be released (or should have been able to be mass produced a month ago) or in the case of the Medical Keyrings that were released in October of last year.
The issue I have is the fact that we are outputting press releases that either say nothing or promise everything with absolutely nothing substantial behind them. No-one has seen anything and more to the point no-one is willing to show us anything.
Why not divert some money from Mr Dalsgaard and Constellation (or maybe they could pay for it as it appears they are being paid to do publicity) and have someone produce a video of the products actually in operation?
I realise that the SMME smartcards can't be used at a retail location as at the present time they aren't real EMV cards but it wouldn't be hard to set up a dummy terminal in a shopping center somewhere, have six cards that have been imprinted to six people and offer passers by the opportunity to see that they can't in fact use them as the cards are coded to someone else. While you are there do the same with the Medical Keyring and see if passers-by can access that.
Offer people money if they can access a card and when they fail have the owner of the card access it to show it's not really rigged.
While you are at it have a portable near field reader (the sort that crooks use to steal the data off your card in your wallet like here and here) in place and demonstrate just how vulnerable non-SMME cards are. While the public are there show that the SMME card is secure from such walk by pilfering of credit card details.
You will demonstrate our product, the deficiencies of the competition product and the real advantages and applications of the SMME card.
Then post on you tube. Cost is the cost of the production of the video. Benefits are:
> Happy shareholders who now have something real to show to spouses who are concerned about the depth of your investments and seeming lack of progress.
> Something to send off to the local TV station for their morning show to fill a few minutes if they so desire.
> Something real and substantial to make the rounds of the tech websites.
> Real information out there that may be useful to attract some new investors or maybe even some customers or even for just interest in the product and technology.
Personally I don't believe that the issues raised on this site effect the share price. It is small fish here at the minute and until the majors come on board I don't believe the price will reach anywhere near it's true potential. Small investors doing DD have probably already read and charted the claims of each "press release" and compared the claims to the results and will have reached the same conclusion as these posts while the majors don't pay attention to people like us anyway.
I know I did my DD before I invested and I invested anyway due more to a belief in the technology and it's far reaching applications than the press releases. I don't think we have fully grasped just how many applications there are or even thought about further breaches of the 464 that have occurred and are possible to litigate.
While my last investment was ten weeks ago I haven't ruled out dropping more cash in, I am just waiting for something substantial or real to occur to justify such an action.
Come on Chaya, give me and the rest of us a reason to give you more money! We're here, we're waiting, all we need is a sign.
OBP.
It is hard not to agree.
It used to be the case that when I saw a SMME press release I would open it and read it eagerly, no matter where I was, no matter what I was doing.
These days I don't bother.
It is hard to justify the time, the effort or the annoyance it will bring to me.
As one of the recent posts stated, we have shares in a technology company, not a PR firm whose sole purpose seems to be passing on an endless line of statistics from other PR firms I have not heard of.
If I was in the mood I would pull all of the press releases and summarise them. This many over this space of time. This many about fluff, this many about SMME and then break those up into statements that have been fulfilled and those that have not.
Unfortunately it's not worth my time and effort as the investors (yes Chaya, we are investors and part owners in SMME) here are aware of it, as would be any potential investors and one would hope our management as well.
It has been suggested in the past that frequent press releases that contain nothing but fluff and unfulfilled promises don't do any good for the company or it's share price but rather undermine it. It is an old saying but an accurate one - "an empty vessel makes the most noise".
While I still have faith in the product management needs to realise that the current policy of endless fluff press releases is not making shareholders happy, not attracting new shareholders and may actually be a detriment. The only people it would be benefitting are Jens Dalsgard and Constellation.
This week would have been an ideal opportunity to update us on the ability of the company to commence mass production or explain the delay if any. It could have been an honest and open chance to explain where we (yes thats a "we" as we are shareholders and part owners of SMME) are up to and if delays have occurred let us know.
At the minute the lack of information merely serves to convince us as well any other interested parties that "we" may have not been accurate in the December press release. This then opens the can of worms about whether the ability to mass produce stated in the December press release was:
a) Known to be false at time of publishing
b) Questionable re the time frame
c) Mismanaged so as not to allow it to occur or
d) Achievable but something went seriously wrong or
e) something else entirely.
Tell us and we'll know. Be upfront and we may even invest more money. Continue doing as has been done so far and dont be surprised that people are hesitant!
I had been debating this post for a while as I dont like to make negative comments that detract from SMME. Many of us have spent a considerable amount of time and effort countering posts from detractors on this board previously so it concerned me about the negative impact it may bring. I still have some concerns but I believe we are one small bulletin board and that any possible investors would already be thinking the same thing if they had reviewed past press releases and followed up on the outcomes of them.
Still Optimistic but Patient, just getting a little frustrated.
OBP.
Phones will never be the primary payment device
When you apply for a credit/debit card that is what the bank issues - a card. They don't give you a phone with credit/debit facilities included.
Once you have the card you may copy across (I don't honestly know how) the cards details to the phone so that you can use it for payments and you may use it as it is more convenient at certain locations.
There will however be certain places where your phone will not be accepted and they insist on you using the card that was issued by the bank.
The other thing is how long the banks will allow this to occur, and what happens when someone copies your card details across to their phone and the transaction is fraudulent. Who is liable? You because you failed to secure your data, the retailers who took a phones data as payment or the banks? At the minute it's not a huge issue as its not that common. The tightening of the responsibilities for fraud and increasing levels of fraud from these type of transactions that should be anticipated will possibly limit the usage or values of transactions permitted by this method of payment in the future.
So I personally don't believe that mobile phone payment devices pose a significant issue to SMME. They may be used but the banks will always need to issue cards and most consumers will still need to carry them even though they may prefer to use their phones for payment purposes.
The proliferation of finger print readers on phones and other devices if anything will make the SMME card more merchantable by the banks. Whether it is down to some bank doing an advert like:
"Why are your credit card details less secure than your facebook page?" and showing a phones facebook page secured by thumbscan and comparing it to a non-SMME card that is able to be used by whoever is holding it.
or consumers simply demanding higher standards in credit cards just because they can, as happens now with mobile phones - an attidude of it's new so it must be better and I must have it.
But a more pressing question and one I am surprised hasn't been asked already is:
We are now in Q2, what is happening regarding the press release of December 12 that stated the cards "will be available for quantity sales in the first quarter of 2014?"
Even if we are still waiting for customers to sign up I have been awaiting a press release confirming that we are now ready to start taking orders and turning out product.
I am sure others are the same.
OBP.
Why does their height matter?
But speaking of dwarves.
I rear ended a dwarf with my car today. He got out and said "I am not happy". Then I said, "Well then, which one are you?".
OBP
Press release
According the the press release of December 12 the cards "will be available for quantity sales in the first quarter of 2014."
It should be noted though that it doesnt say that cards will be released, just that they "will be available for quantity sales".
If SMME actually manage to have them able to be produced in quantity they will still need a buyer for them.
Once that occurs I have no doubt there will be (yet another) press release and exciting things will happen with price and volume.
Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month......... who knows.
We have all waited this long, we should be getting used to it.
OBP
Press release
According the the press release of December 12 the cards "will be available for quantity sales in the first quarter of 2014."
It should be noted though that it doesnt say that cards will be released, just that they "will be available for quantity sales".
If SMME actually manage to have them able to be produced in quantity they will still need a buyer for them.
Once that occurs I have no doubt there will be (yet another) press release and exciting things will happen with price and volume.
Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month......... who knows.
We have all waited this long, we should be getting used to it.
OBP
Reporting timelines
Now I am not sure of how the reporting timelines work but the last three monthly report covered the three months ending Sept 30th 2013.
The MKR was released on August 25th 2013 so there was just over a months sales in the period covered by this report. I am not sure if the revenue that the sales of the MKR in this month would have been included in this report or not which may explain the nil income when it was filed.
The report that we are waiting on should you would think have these sales showing, as well as the sales made since September 30th - we will see soon.
OBP
40 days till the end of Q1
Heres hoping we get some positive news soon.
OBP
A group investing money into Bitcoin projects.
From a recent article in the NY Times.
"Marc Andreessen’s venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has invested just under $50 million in Bitcoin-related start-ups. The firm is actively searching for more Bitcoin-based investment opportunities."
May be worth Chaya and Co reading. They are looking for investment opportunities related to Bitcoin.
OBP.
Welcome to the club Moe
Hopefully we won't all be waiting too long for stuff to happen.
OBP
The silence is deafening isn't it.
Sorry Cocky, no-one on here has any more knowledge about any of your queries than you do. We all keep on asking and never get any real answers.
All you can do is stay positive.
OBP.
The countdown begins, 100 sleeps to go.
According the the press release of December 12 the cards "will be available for quantity sales in the first quarter of 2014."
Given that first quarter 2014 ends 31/3/2014 that's one hundred days from today worst case, it may possibly be quicker.
While it doesn't mention sales of product or customers ready to go (which SMME probably couldn't talk about anyway) it is still closer than we have ever been in that we now have a definite date.
Is that a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel? Here's hoping.
OBP
I agree "COIN" has issues (OBP rant follows)
But I dont think Casey was actually supporting the product or it's uses.
What we saw was a video for an average product that has been well produced and very nicely promoted to the person in the street. It's all there. Features and benefits of the product and how it's going to make the buyers life easier.
Compare it to the poorly crafted video on the MKR that has poor audio, poor presentation and is not really designed to sell the product. But we should be thankful, at least someone out in the interweb has taken the time to produce a video because SMME hasn't bothered. All we can manage are endless press releases that say the same thing over and over.
What I don't think Chaya realises is that there are two sorts of people out there. Investors and customers.
I am an investor. When I first came on board I used to read the press releases as soon as they came out. I was excited to hear what was being said. Well, now it's all been said, not just once but over and over. Now I don't bother looking at them unless someone on here makes a comment that tweaks my interest or possibly to look for the spelling and grammar errors.
The second group, customers, don't look at press releases. They want a pretty little video clip that tweaks their interest and encourages them to look at it and hopefully buy product. The trouble is SMME can't see the sense in spending a couple of thousand dollars to actually show the buyers what we have, what it does and how it's going to be good for them which is a shame as it is a good product.
At the minute all we seem to be doing is alienating the investors (current or potential) and ignoring the customers. I don't believe that I am being overly critical, but it annoys me greatly when good product is stifled by poor decisions and what can only be described as a lack of care. I look at the website and I see the text below the map that says:
"I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me and you can start adding your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
?
This is a great space to write long text about your company and your services. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. Talk about your team and what services you provide. Tell your visitors the story of how you came up with the idea for your business and what makes you different from your competitors. Make your company stand out and show your visitors who you are."
It's completely unprofessional that any one has been allowed to put out this standard of product, but what really irks me is that a week after I advised the Company of the issue - no-one has bothered to fix it. Maybe if someone fixes that while they are at it they will hyperlink the Smartmetric headers back to the parent site and have it so that clicking on the sales email address will open your email programme at the same time, it's all basic stuff.
Maybe I shouldn't be optomistic about anyone spelling "Angiograhms" correctly on the packaging of the current batch of MKR's either as I only advised them of that the week after the initial release.
The value of good advertising and professional promotion is shown in the COIN clip, not just in selling product but also in capital raising. According to the article $50,000 in forty minutes which seems worthwhile.
But yes I am still optimistic, but getting less patient and just a tad annoyed.
OBP
(If the maker of that video reads this, please don't be offended, I realise it was done for youtube or similar and that you werent after a "professional" standard to sell product. Its just annoying that SMME should have done what you did months ago and can't be bothered)
Manufacturer of the finger print reader!
Fingerprints press release from December 5, 2013.
“Smart cards, protected by the use of biometrics, combine security and user convenience and in its One Card Digital Wallet solution, SmartMetric has added features that solve the challenge of handling multiple credit cards and other personal ID information. We are excited to see this new solution being offered on the global smart card market. FPC’s sensor technology has proven once more to be the market-leading supplier of capacitive fingerprint sensors with the highest quality, compact size and the lowest power consumption."
According to the press release fingerprints are the makers of the sensors in the Smartmetric smartcards.
Fingerprints is a Swedish company that has been on their stockmarket since 1998, currently trading at 62.75 Swedish Krona which is AU$10.60 or US$9.65.
OBP
Hello Bale
Sorry about the wait. Sorry but I can't help with definite answers to any of the questions you ask.
There was a post on the other site that invoice number 1,100(ish) was issued which led me to believe that at least that many had been sold. If that was correct then it should have been revenue of at least $100,000. No-one knows as there have been no definite figures of production or sales released.
At the time of the release there was no mention of a trial, and upon selling out the site promoted that we were out of stock. At that time I believe the info was that there would be stock available shortly. The website currently states:
"Due to demand we are out of stock. All new orders will be fulfilled within the next 2 to 3 weeks. Orders will be processed in the order they are received. Your Credit Card will not be charged until the time of shipping."
Since it was sold out the adverts were still heard, although I am not sure if they are still being run.
Regarding the feedback, I have no idea on that either.
Keep the faith, it's been a while (and longer for others) but I am still optomistic it will be a good outcome for the case, the MKR and the cards as well.
OBP.
We all thought that
Apparently it was a trial release and they are getting feedback off purchasers before the proper release which is upcoming.......