CU*Answers and Firethorn to Deliver Mobile Banking Services

BOSTON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Firethorn Holdings, LLC, a Qualcomm company (Nasdaq: QCOM), and CU*Answers today announced that the credit union service organization has selected Firethorn's Mobile Banking application and SMS service for its more than 165 credit unions. CU*Answers represents more than 1.5 million members with more than $10 billion in credit union assets.

"What makes us truly excited about this new relationship is that Firethorn has the opportunity to reach CU*Answers' credit unions with a single integration and branding, which is a first for us," said Dave Vigil, senior vice president of Firethorn. "CU*Answers and Firethorn share the same vision that the future of mobile banking is now. Financial institutions that develop their mobile strategies early will be well positioned to meet consumers' growing demand for these services."

In the second quarter of 2010, CU*Answers will offer Firethorn's mobile banking application and SMS service to its credit unions for deployment. Through the application, members can check their balances, pay their bills, transfer funds and receive offers, all from their mobile phones.

In addition to the mobile banking application, Firethorn's solution also provides CU*Answers with SMS capabilities, allowing members to receive account alerts or provider messages via SMS, or initiate requests for transaction history or balance information by sending an SMS message.

"The marketplace is abuzz with enthusiasm at the potential that mobile banking holds for consumers. The only way for that potential to be met by credit unions effectively is to build, learn and evolve our offerings now," said Randy Karnes, CEO for CU*Answers. "CU*Answers was looking for a provider that would allow us the flexibility to bring the product to market. Firethorn and our board of directors delivered the perfect plan."

Firethorn's mobile commerce platform features a combination of banking, payments and commerce solutions for the present and future generations of mobile services. The application provides consumers with simple, convenient and efficient access to financial account information and other services such as loyalty programs and targeted offers from financial institutions and retail merchants.

About CU*Answers
CU*Answers was founded over 35 years ago and is a 100 percent Credit Union owned CUSO located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. CU*Answers offers a wide variety of services for credit unions, including its flagship CU*BASE Processing System in both an Online (ASP) and In-house environment, Internet Development Services featuring the It's Me 247 Online Banking product, Member Check Processing and Direct Deposit processing services. CU*Answers provides combined services to 165 credit unions nationally representing nearly 1.5 million members and $10 billion in credit union assets. For more information about how "We Make Credit Unions Go," please visit CU*Answers at cuanswers.com.

About Firethorn
Firethorn Holdings, LLC, a Qualcomm company (Nasdaq: QCOM), is providing an important link in the emerging mobile commerce ecosystem. As a pioneer in mobile banking, Firethorn is transforming the traditional wallet into a streamlined, efficient and protected mobile revenue channel that will bridge relationships among financial institutions, retailers, wireless operators and consumers. Firethorn's innovative technology creates easily accessible, branded and personalized mobile commerce channels that give consumers access to their accounts, offers and transactions while on the go. For more information about Firethorn, visit www.firethornmobile.com.

Firethorn is a registered trademark of Firethorn Holdings, LLC. Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.

    Contacts:
    Kelly Buday, Firethorn
    Phone:  1-678-978-5429
    Email:  kbuday@qualcomm.com

    Emily Kilpatrick, Qualcomm Corporate Communications
    Phone:  1-858-845-5959
    Email:  corpcomm@qualcomm.com

    John Gilbert, Qualcomm Investor Relations
    Phone:  1-858-658-4813
    Email:  ir@qualcomm.com