Saturday, November 27, 2010

New Funding round

Press Release Source: Socialwise, Inc. On Wednesday November 24, 2010, 9:35 am EST

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - 11/24/10) - Socialwise, Inc. (OTC.BB:SCLW - News), whose flagship brand BillMyParents® serves as their innovative teen commerce solution, is pleased to announce that they have successfully closed their previously announced offering and received additional gross funding totaling $3.4 MM. Maxim Group LLC acted as the Placement Agent in connection with the offering.

"We have laid down a solid brand awareness foundation this summer and fall in the social media, action sports retail and consumer event spaces with the teen demographic to create awareness about our teen payment solutions," commented Jim Collas, President and CEO of Socialwise, Inc. "This round of funding is intended to allow us to fully engage our national marketing and customer acquisition programs for our premium products and to quickly gain momentum in the marketplace."

The Company is poised to announce a partnership with a significant online entertainment service company intended to appeal to teens' strong desire for spending independence and which supports the viability and rapid growth of the teen prepaid card category. More large-scale marketing initiatives via targeted advertising, pro athlete-endorsed projects, social media outlets, consumer events and sponsorships are underway and will continue to roll out through 2011.

Friday, June 18, 2010

BillMyParents(R) Inks Deals With Multiple Major Action Sports...

BillMyParents(R) Inks Deals With Multiple Major Action Sports...
BillMyParents®, the online teen payment solutions division of Socialwise, Inc. (OTCBB: SCLW), announced that they are partnering with three major action sports retailers for their Supervised Shopping™ program. Targeting sites where teens browse and shop online, BillMyParents® has selected retail partners representing over $1B in annual sales from millions of consumers online and with over 900 stores nationwide. These retail partners plan to promote BillMyParents® to their existing consumer base, generating 20 million impressions of the BillMyParents® branded shopping button per month

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

BillMyParents(R) Announces Innovative Peace of Mind Control Panel(TM) for Parents

AN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - 05/19/10) - BillMyParents®, the online teen payment solutions company from Socialwise, Inc. (OTC.BB:SCLW - News), premiered today its Peace of Mind Control Panel™ feature that works in conjunction with its teen reloadable prepaid MasterCard®. The proprietary panel enables parents to easily monitor and manage their teens' BillMyParents® reloadable prepaid MasterCard® accounts, and is just one of the unique elements that make BillMyParents® a leader in teen payment solutions and user security for today's fast-paced environment.

"We developed the Peace of Mind Control Panel in order to specifically give parents an unparalleled level of monitoring and control services that are not typically associated with other standard debit card programs," says Jim Collas, President and CEO of BillMyParents®. "Carrying cash can be risky, and the safety and ease of our reloadable prepaid MasterCard® means parents and teens can have ongoing dialogue about financial responsibility while enabling teens a higher level of the independence they yearn for."

The BillMyParents® reloadable prepaid MasterCard® is the debit card parents don't need to worry about, and is accepted at over 25 million locations worldwide. Through the Peace of Mind Control Panel™, Transaction Alerts deliver parents a text or email every time a transaction is made, including the name and location of the vendor, the amount of sale, and the remaining balance. Lost Card Protection covers a lost or stolen card, with funds automatically transferred to the replacement card -- completely hassle-free. With Emergency Load, parents can instantly add funds to a card account whether it's for gas for a stranded teen or for last minute movie tickets or meals. Also, parents have the ability to instantly enable or disable cards using the Lock/Unlock Account feature.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Professional Motocross Racer and Rally America Champion Driver Travis Pastrana Signs on With BillMyParents

Professional Motocross Racer and Rally America Champion Driver Travis Pastrana Signs on With BillMyParents(R) Online Teen Payment Solutions
prnewswire

SAN DIEGO, April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BillMyParents®, the online teen payment solutions division of Socialwise, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:SCLW.ob - News), announced today that professional motocross racer and four-time Rally America champion has signed an endorsement deal with the Company's online BillMyParents® payment solution. Pastrana is the latest high profile addition to the Company's major marketing program launching late spring featuring numerous top action sports athletes and retail partners.

"The BillMyParents programs are ideal for teens in today's fast paced world," says Pastrana. "I hate waiting and go for what I want, and these solutions mean teens can have that too. They can let their parents know what they want with the click of a button, and parents get peace of mind. It couldn't be easier!"

Legendary Travis Pastrana was the World Freestyle Motocross champion at 14 and has 9 X Games gold medals under his belt. Born in Maryland in 1983, he was riding a Honda one-speed by the time he was 4, and the world gaped in amazement in 2006 when he became the first person to land a double-back flip on a motorcycle. Pastrana is also the reigning Rally America Series champion, a title he's won four years in a row. The popular MTV show "Nitro Circus" follows him and fellow daredevils around the world as they push the limits with dirt bikes, skydiving stunts, bobsleds, monster trucks and more. Travis is also a big supporter of Road 2 Recovery, a non-profit charity foundation that helps professional motocross/supercross racers who sustain career ending injures with financial support.

"We're very excited to have Travis on board with BillMyParents. He is truly an icon in the action sports and racing worlds, and has a tremendous number of devoted fans," comments Jim Collas, President and CEO of Socialwise, Inc. "We knew Travis would be a great endorser of our BillMyParents payment solutions because he really connects with people of all ages and backgrounds."

BillMyParents® provides innovative and simple payment solutions for teens and their parents. When using the Supervised Shopping™ program, teens safely shop online on partner retail sites and click on the BillMyParents® payment button that appears next to each product. Selections are sent right away by email or text to parents, who can easily manage and approve requests. The system ensures security of private financial data, and parents can also choose to deposit allowance-like spending amounts in advance for teens' use.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Offerpal Media Rolls Out New Direct Payment Options Worldwide, Hires Industry Veteran Alex Brutin

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FREMONT, Calif., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Offerpal Media (http://www.offerpalmedia.com), the leader in virtual currency payment alternatives, announced today that it recently integrated several new direct payment options into its platform in order to help social developers and online game publishers accept payments from users who do not have or are unwilling to use credit cards. The new payment options include pre-paid debit cards, phone cards, e-payment systems, parent-approved payments and more, from such partners as Zeus Research and STi Prepaid, paysafecard, MyCard, Rixty, BillMyParents, ClickandBuy and others—covering nearly 200 countries in all.

The company also announced it recently hired payment industry veteran Alex Brutin as its Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Brutin is responsible for forging new relationships with other direct payment providers and monetization partners as well as new strategic initiatives. Having previously worked as the Head of Channel Partnerships at Google Checkout and in Merchant Services Business Development at PayPal, Mr. Brutin most recently was the VP of Business Development at FreeCause, a free, fully-customizable toolbar that helps organizations reach and engage their supporters in fundamentally new ways. He has his MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

"Our vision is to help developers monetize larger portions of their user bases, whether through alternative payment options like offers, videos and surveys, or cash payment methods such as credit cards and all their substitutes," said George Garrick, Chairman and CEO of Offerpal Media. "There's a lot of innovation in the online payment space at the moment, with all sorts of new payment products that enable developers to monetize distinct sets of users based on geography, demographics and behavior types. We're proud to bring on board someone like Alex to help us identify the most appropriate partners to work with and build up profitable relationships."

The following direct payment options have been added to Offerpal's alternative payment platform in recent months:

* STi Prepaid phone cards: Using Zeus Research's patent-pending conversion system, gamers can purchase virtual currency by typing in pin numbers found on the back of pre-paid phone cards from STi Prepaid, a long-established name recognized throughout the U.S. STi sells in excess of 200 million cards each year through more than 225,000 national retail outlets.
* paysafecard: The leading online payment method in Europe, paysafecard allows users to purchase prepaid vouchers and authorize payments online by simply entering a 16-digit PIN code. Paysafecard is available at 280,000 outlets in more than 24 European countries.
* MyCard: MyCard offers several types of stored value cards such as scratch cards, thermosensitive paper and more, available in retail outlets, convenient stores and websites all throughout Asia. Furthermore, it also provides diverse micropayment methods for purchase online. MyCard was founded in 1983 and is based in Taiwan.
* Rixty: Rixty is an alternative payment platform that makes it easy for youth and adults without credit cards to convert their cash into online credits at more than 10,000 Coinstar kiosks and 10,000 convenience stores via the Rixty prepaid card. Rixty recently announced it had expanded its system to safely enable kids under the age of 13 to purchase online.
* BillMyParents: BillMyParents is a youth payment system that lets teens and tweens shop online without a credit card and gives parents the ability to easily track and control their teen's spending – while ensuring that credit card numbers and personal information are kept safe and secure. BillMyParents is a product of Socialwise, Inc. (OTCBB:SCLW.ob - News).
* ClickandBuy: ClickandBuy is a leading Internet payment service provider that enables users to conduct one-click transactions in 120 currencies throughout the world and offers 50 national and international modes of payment. Founded in 1999, ClickandBuy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG.


Offerpal already works with many other direct payment providers, from PayPal and Visa/MasterCard to Zong, Boku, DaoPay, Amazon Payments, Paymo, Ultimate Game Card, PayByCash, Social Gold and more. The company recently passed its Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance validation, meaning that it meets the fraud prevention and data security standards established by the PCI and can now process credit card transactions more efficiently. The company expects to roll out several more payment options in coming months.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Professional Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler Teams Up With BillMyParents(R) Online Teen Payment Solutions

SAN DIEGO, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BillMyParents®, the online teen payment system of Socialwise, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board:SCLW.ob - News), is proud to announce that professional skateboarder and 2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Male Athlete Ryan Sheckler has signed a deal with the Company to promote its online BillMyParents® payment solution. Sheckler will be part of a major marketing initiative the Company plans to launch in late spring which will include a multitude of top action sports athletes and retailers.

The star of MTV's hit reality show "Life of Ryan," Ryan Sheckler is the skateboarding child prodigy who exploded onto the professional scene in 2003, turning pro at the tender age of 13. That year alone saw him astound the world with gold medals in street at the X Games and the Gravity Games. He also took first place overall in the Vans Triple Crown street competition. A native of San Clemente, CA, Ryan has also created The Sheckler Foundation to make a difference in the lives of children, families and communities in need, as well as injured action sports athletes. The first athlete to ever win the Dew Action Sports Tour championship 3 years in a row, Ryan continues to be an innovative and powerhouse skateboarder and international celebrity, with 1.5 million followers on Twitter alone.

"I love what BillMyParents is doing for teens and tweens," says Sheckler. "Teens need their independence, and using the BillMyParents payment systems means they can pick exactly what they want - it's very easy, and is also secure for parents. I have a close relationship with my mom, and I believe it's important for kids and their parents to talk about building good habits."

"I am excited to have Ryan endorsing and promoting the BillMyParents brand as he is a truly talented rising star," commented Jim Collas, President and CEO of BillMyParents®. "Just last week, Ryan won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Best Male Athlete, beating out LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Shawn White."

Friday, April 9, 2010

Motocross Champ Travis Pastrana on Board with Socialwise!

BillMyParents®, the online teen payment solutions division of Socialwise, Inc. (OTCBB: SCLW), announced today that professional motocross racer and four-time Rally America champion has signed an endorsement deal with the Company's online BillMyParents® payment solution. Pastrana is the latest high profile addition to the Company's major marketing program launching late spring featuring numerous top action sports athletes and retail partners.

"The BillMyParents programs are ideal for teens in today's fast paced world," says Pastrana. "I hate waiting and go for what I want, and these solutions mean teens can have that too. They can let their parents know what they want with the click of a button, and parents get peace of mind. It couldn't be easier!"

Legendary Travis Pastrana was the World Freestyle Motocross champion at 14 and has 9 X Games gold medals under his belt. Born in Maryland in 1983, he was riding a Honda one-speed by the time he was 4, and the world gaped in amazement in 2006 when he became the first person to land a double-back flip on a motorcycle. Pastrana is also the reigning Rally America Series champion, a title he's won four years in a row. The popular MTV show "Nitro Circus" follows him and fellow daredevils around the world as they push the limits with dirt bikes, skydiving stunts, bobsleds, monster trucks and more. Travis is also a big supporter of Road 2 Recovery, a non-profit charity foundation that helps professional motocross/supercross racers who sustain career-ending injures with financial support.

"We're very excited to have Travis on board with BillMyParents. He is truly an icon in the action sports and racing worlds, and has a tremendous number of devoted fans," comments Jim Collas, President and CEO of Socialwise, Inc. "We knew Travis would be a great endorser of our BillMyParents payment solutions because he really connects with people of all ages and backgrounds."

BillMyParents® provides innovative and simple payment solutions for teens and their parents. When using the Supervised Shopping™ program, teens safely shop online on partner retail sites and click on the BillMyParents® payment button that appears next to each product. Selections are sent right away by email or text to parents, who can easily manage and approve requests. The system ensures security of private financial data, and parents can also choose to deposit allowance-like spending amounts in advance for teens' use.

Monday, April 5, 2010

12 Month Price Target $1.52- Grass Roots

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - 04/05/10) - Socialwise, Inc. (OTC.BB:SCLW - News) announced today that Grass Roots Research and Distribution - Cohen Independent Research ("Cohen Report") issued an in-depth research report on the Company, which provides a 12-month Cohen Price Target of $1.52 per share. To download the report directly, please visit http://www.grassrootsrd.com/grassrootsrd/Reports/Socialwise_Inc_04_05_2010.pdf or go to www.grassrootsrd.com.

The Cohen Report concluded, "Socialwise's product offerings fill a need in today's market. Growth drivers include unique products and services. We believe the Company has a highly scalable business model, multiple revenue streams, favorable industry economics and a strong management team. In our view, Socialwise has a compelling business model. With demand for alternative online payment options expected to rise significantly, we expect significant growth for Company's products and accordingly for SCLW to quickly progress from its current stage of minimal revenues to a cash flow positive and high growth Company in the near future. Provided the Company raises adequate capital to support its operations and increased marketing efforts while it seeks consumer acceptance for its product offerings, we believe Socialwise provides an exciting, high growth and long term investment opportunity."

NEWS UPDATE- Professional Skateboarder and TV Star Rob Dyrdek Teams up with Socialwise!

SAN DIEGO, CA - (April 1, 2010) - Socialwise, Inc. (OTCBB:SCLW) BillMyParents®, the online teen payment system of Socialwise, Inc. (OTCBB:SCLW), is proud to announce that professional skateboarder and TV star Rob Dyrdek has signed a deal with the Company to promote its online BillMyParents® payment solution and teen MasterCard® prepaid debit card. Dyrdek will be part of a major marketing initiative the company plans to launch in late spring that will include a multitude of top action sports athletes and retailers.

Rob Dyrdek is a star athlete, entertainer and entrepreneur, well known to tens of millions of fans both in the US and around the world. Rob’s MTV reality show Fantasy Factory is wildly popular and he was a top five finisher in two recent Teens’ Choice Awards categories. Additionally through Dyrdek Enterprises, he oversees several companies selling toys, apparel and athletic equipment as well as Street League, a foundation dedicated to creating safe street skate environments. Rob also has millions of teen followers on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

"I’m excited to work with BillMyParents. I like what they do," said Mr. Dyrdek. "Giving teens freedom to pick what they want and also letting parents in on that, I think it gives parents insight into what their kids really want and gives teens the opportunity to learn financial responsibility. It just makes sense."

"Rob is an ideal celebrity athlete to promote BillMyParents. He is admired and followed by millions of teens, and his ability to promote and communicate a positive message to his fan base is unsurpassed," noted Jim Collas, President and CEO of BillMyParents®. "Rob’s appeal extends to parents because he sets a light-hearted example to kids to work hard in order to achieve their goals. Parents also appreciate Rob’s numerous philanthropic undertakings."

BillMyParents® provides innovative payment solutions for teens and parents. With the Supervised Shopping™ program, teens shop online and pick out specific items they want by using the convenient BillMyParents® payment button on partner retail sites. Parents have the option of providing an allowance-like spending limit in advance, or are notified via email or text to approve or deny each purchase requested through the simple, safe and easy-to-use automated system.

The new BillMyParents® reloadable prepaid MasterCard® gives teens additional freedom and independence, enabling purchases wherever MasterCard® is accepted, both online and through traditional retail outlets. The BillMyParents® MasterCard® prepaid card eliminates the risks of carrying cash, and also gives parents a unique set of enhanced monitoring and safety functions over their teen’s card use. Coming soon, users can choose from many designs, including pictures of Rob Dyrdek.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

General Markets looking bleak

I follow a lot of commentary about the "general Markets" because when they are slipping people frown away from higher risk investments...below is an except from a newsletter I subscribe to from one of the most accurate market readers around and the best I have followed over the last 12 years....

"It looks to me that the stock market will be testing long-term support for the major indexes at the 200-day moving averages. For the S&P 500 index this support is at 1043, which most probably will be tested by the end of this month.

What makes this market dangerous is that the Fed must drive commodity prices down as fast as possible before they have chance to rise during the spring and summer months. This is why the money supply is plunging which is helping to cause stock prices to fall. As the technical underpinnings continue to weaken, the risk for a sharp decline in stock prices is all the more real.

Caution: We Are Now About to Enter the Bust Cycle

President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address that the “worst of the economic storm has passed, but the devastation remains.” What the president didn’t say is that financial storms happen with regularity in a secular bear market, as we’ve seen over the past decade.

Economic growth is not linear; it’s cyclical in nature and there are economic cycles. Recoveries die and new economic storms follow, in boom/bust cycles. This recovery is much different than past recoveries in that the consumer is not really participating.

More than 70% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in previous recoveries has come from consumer spending. But this time it’s different, as we are surely not seeing that happen now.

In the 4Q09 GDP, consumer spending contracted from the previous quarter. In spite of that contraction, GDP rose sharply because the government spent money like a drunken sailor on payday. There was a sharp increase in business inventories, adding significantly to the GDP number, which was the result of businesses anticipating an increase in demand by consumers.

Last, the Fed’s strategy of undercutting the dollar gives a boost to U.S. exports, which also pumps up the GDP. That trick is really a game of smoke and mirrors, because pushing down the dollar does nothing to whet the appetite for goods and services by the consumer.

As long as unemployment hovers around 10%, consumer demand for goods and services will be anemic. Without consumer demand, businesses will cease stockpiling inventory and eventually cut back, causing a hit to GDP.

Keep your eye on a rising dollar. Our GDP is now much stronger than Europe’s GDP. But as the U.S. dollar strengthens, our exports will no longer be attractive to European markets, and that, too, will cause a further hit to GDP. Government spending, which has directly given money to banks so they can support the stock market, is coming to an end. As President Obama wants the banks to pay for their past misdeeds, investment banks are starting to sell stocks into rising markets and trying to further add liquidity to their balance sheets.

All the economic reports I’m reading lead me to one conclusion: we are now about to enter the bust cycle. And that is why I am so focused on risk.

R-I-S-K is not a dirty four-letter word

Risk is defined as the effect of uncertainty on objectives. My objective is to build wealth and to keep it. In order to do that, we need a plan to manage risk so that we can protect ourselves from the coming financial storm and try to profit from it. Risk management can be considered the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by the coordinated application to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.

If you are blind to these risks, you can’t manage them, and this is why greed is so damaging – because we ignore risks and the laws of probability, and that’s when you start to really lose money. The first step is to identify risk, and in addition to the risk I see in the stock market, the energy market is also bubbling over with potential pitfalls.

At the end of December, a number of risk factors in my technical models were flashing. They were indicating that the month of January was going to be a tough month for energy. In the early part of January, crude oil prices traded at $84 a barrel. If we have a repeat of surging oil prices this coming spring, it will really destroy our economy. It will act as a weight, just as the housing market dealt a blow to the economy in 2008.

When crude oil prices reached $84 a barrel in January, a chain of events was set in motion. It started with the Fed talking up the dollar, followed by a series of speeches to the markets that interest rates might need to be raised sooner rather than later. This had the effect of driving down commodity prices. In addition, the Fed sent a letter to the banking community stressing interest rate risk management in the event the Fed is forced to raise interest rates in the near future.

In late December, the Fed began aggressively cutting the money supply in order to undercut oil prices. This tells me that corporate earnings for the first quarter of 2010 will not look pretty. As a consequence, the U.S. dollar reversed its decline and is now trending higher. Crude oil prices have also retreated more than $10 a barrel since trading at $84 in the beginning of the year. Gold is down more than $120 an ounce, and the S&P 500 is off close to 6.5% from its 2010 high.

China is keenly aware of the risks of soaring commodity prices and the impact of increases on food. The government has informed Chinese banks that it wants them to restrict lending in the next few months. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) fell 11.2% in 13 trading days in January.

I have been sharing with you since last September these risks should crude oil prices begin to decline. If crude oil were allowed to continue to rise, the table would be set for a very possible double-dip recession. That is why the president’s economic team is burning the midnight oil while trying to find a way out of this mess.

As a sector, the financial sector is lagging most sectors and is clearly breaking down and testing its 200-day moving averages. A breach below this long-term support could lead us into the next bust cycle.

Be Prepared: The Technical Indicators Are Deteriorating

At the end of December, a number of technical risks presented themselves. The charts showed that bullish sentiment of investment advisory newsletters had reached extreme bullish levels. As a contrary indicator, this was a clear warning signal that a sharp correction was soon to follow. Whenever the herd is on one side of the market, the predators begin to sell into the bullish enthusiasm.

Over the past few weeks, I have pointed out the MACD (moving averages convergence divergence) indicators were maxed out and beginning to roll over. We see this on both an intermediate-term and a long-term basis. The monthly stochastic is extremely overbought, suggesting market risk is extremely high right now.

In January, these indicators continued to deteriorate, with all the major indexes now trending below their 50-day moving averages. As long as the 50-day moving averages are descending, market risk is increasing as the technical underpinnings of the market break down. This was not a great way to start the year.

We have to accept the situation – that it is the Fed’s and the government’s job to spin the economy in the most favorable light possible and continue to bang the gong and tell us that the economy is on the road to recovery.

It is something we all want, but keep this in the back of your mind: the government is a master at psychology and motivation, and in an economy like this, psychology is a big part of getting people to feel better about things.

Yet, the inescapable fact is, we have seen an enormous loss of wealth over the past decade and especially the past couple of years, and regardless of the spin, this wealth is not replaceable. People have considerably less wealth, and their access to borrowing has been cut off. That is one of the main reasons why big banks are charging 30% for credit cards loans and have ceased lending money. They have a bird’s-eye view of the economy and see that it’s in dire straits regardless of what the GDP numbers are.

For those of you who believe cash is trash, I strongly disagree. I would rather make nothing on money than lose 10% of it in a bad investment. My goal is to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events damaging our portfolios. If I do that successfully, at the start of the next boom cycle we will have cash to take advantage of the bargains the market will give us.

From my perspective, shorting the stock market should only be considered in a bear market, and the technical conditions have to warrant such a situation. My technical indicators are telling me that we are not in a bear market just yet. But as soon as my indicators give me the signal, there are several stocks and ETFs that are ripe to be shorted.

Are You Prepared for the Bear Market Ahead?

It’s imperative that you’re prepared for a moderate – or even significant – market pull-back that could begin at any time.

The technical indicators have continued to deteriorate over the first six weeks of 2010…and there is significant risk in the market right now."