Leap Forward signs partnership with JCM Global

By way of JCM's relationship with leading mobile phone payment system developer TechFirm, LFG will collaborate with TechFirm to develop the solution.

The companies will pool their resources and experience to create a system whereby casino patrons will be able to use their mobile phones to conduct transactions at gaming machines and other devices that use bill validators to accept both currency and mobile e-money.

The technology will be used in a wide range of LFG applications, from slot machines to kiosks to ATMs.  LFG’s low-cost, patented wireless SaffariNet ecosystem will utilize the technology in their highly-secure PlayPal casino cashless system designed for the global gaming industry, as well as for other applications. 

Ali Saffari, Leap Forward Gaming CEO, said, “We are excited to collaborate with JCM and their partner TechFirm on this groundbreaking project.  TechFirm is clearly a leader in the mobile payment field and consumer use of mobile phones as digital wallets is spreading rapidly worldwide.  In conjunction with TechFirm and JCM, we have developed next-generation cashless solutions utilizing our patented SaffariNet ecosystem that reinvents how cash will be handled in casinos.  With close collaborative efforts with regulators, we are meticulously crafting PlayPal to be a highly-secure, user-friendly cashless solution that will satisfy regulatory agencies, operators and manufacturers alike.” 

Saffari continued, “We believe LFG’s new casino cashless technology will help expand financial inclusion to the many global casino patrons who are mobile subscribers and will usher in a new era of cashless gaming solutions.  The adoption of ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO) technology revolutionized the gaming industry.  We anticipate that the combination of our PlayPal cashless technology, TechFirm’s Mobile Wager Wallet technology, and JCM’s award-winning cash handling products will transform the global gaming industry, much the way TITO did a decade ago.”

JCM Global President Aki Isoi said, “This new joint venture builds on JCM’s strategy of creating new patented solutions to deliver greater consumer choice, convenience and control while helping our clients grow their businesses.  LFG’s SaffariNet system utilizing PlayPal and TechFirm’s mobile payment solutions will enable players to make convenient and secure transactions with their mobile devices.  This is an incredibly exciting field for JCM Global, TechFirm and LFG to be collaborating on, and we believe our casino customers will benefit from offering this new cashless technology to their players.  Just as TITO changed the industry, we believe this technology will also be a game-changer.”

TechFirm’s Founder and CMO Yuichiro Tsutsui said, “We are pleased to be working with such an industry-leading firm as LFG and their new patented PlayPal technology.  We have found their team to have the critical gaming industry and technology expertise required to take our patented products into the gaming arena.  TechFirm’s industry leading pay-by-phone technology combined with LFG’s PlayPal solution and JCM’s cash handling expertise and products will create a win-win-win scenario for the global gaming industry.”  

Paying by mobile phone is common in many countries, such as Japan and Europe, where commuters frequently pay for items, such as train tickets, using their mobile phones.  TechFirm demonstrated its Mobile Wager Wallet in JCM’s booth at the recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, where players could use a mobile phone to add credits to a gaming device.  Several editors of leading gaming trade magazines called the technology the most exciting they saw on the entire show floor.