Dear Sir/Madam,

We are happy to announce that Cyclos 4.4 can now be downloaded from our license server. We can also announce the brand new Cyclos (NFC) Smartphone POS. All nice new features and improvements are summarized below:

Mobile POS (Point Of Sale)
The Cyclos smartphone POS turns each NFC enabled android phone into a POS device. This allows shops to receive payments from customers who have an nfc payment card. The POS can also be used for loyalty schemes, in schools, universities and in much more places. More information about the smartphone POS can be found here.

Mobile app
We have redesigned our mobile app from the ground up. It has a more modern look and feel and can be easily customized from within Cyclos.

Operators
Cyclos now has an additional user category ‘operators’, next to admins, brokers and members. An operator can be seen as a ‘sub’ member with specific permissions. The ‘main’ member can create different operators that have their own login/password and can perform specific actions like payments and other typical user functions. The main user can define the permissions of the operators, for example what payments an operator can do, and set possible limits and thresholds (e.g. max amount/day). The main member has an overview of the payments the operator made or received.

User defined language
It is now possible to have multiple languages for the same group/configuration. Users can switch easily between languages.

Full data translation
Any data entity in Cyclos (for example a currency name or account name) can now be customized for multiple languages. This means for example that you can have a single country wide currency but different local currency names.

Account numbers
It is now possible to generate (unique) account numbers for each user account. The format of the account number can be defined by applying a simple mask. If more complex account number rules and formats are required a script can be used. An example script with IBAN format/check will be provided in the scripting documentation.

New payment options

Multiple user identifiers options for payments
Besides the option to search and pay a user by username or login name, it is now also possible to pay a user with other user identifiers such as account number, e-mail, phone number, custom field, and contact.
Especially for systems with limited user visibility this will be a handy feature.

Pay external (non registered) user
It is now possible to send a payment to users that are not registered in the system. For example, a user (or admin) can make a payment to an external email or mobile phone number. The payment receiver (new user) will be informed by email or SMS that he has a pending amount to receive, and that this can be retrieved by registering to the system (either via Web or with SMS, depending on the configuration). Directly after the registration the amount will be transferred automatically from the payer to the receiver account.

Fixed amount
The transaction type now includes a ‘fixed amount’ option. Payments that use this transaction have an obligatory (pre-filled) fixed amount. If a fixed amount is used for SMS payments it won't be necessary to include the amount variable in the SMS command. With the ‘fixed amount’ and ‘fixed destination user’ options it is possible to create very simple and easy-to-use commands for SMS and POS payments.

Improved user visibility permissions
We received many requests for more ‘fine grained’ user visibility permissions. It is now possible to define in a single table what users can see or do concerning their own data (e.g. email, address and profile fields), and data of other users. It is also possible to hide the user search as a whole. Of course users will also need to be able to find other users. When performing an operation that involves another user, for example a payment, the payer will have to enter an exact user identifier (e.g. email or account number) of the other party. The payment form has an option to add the user to the contact list in order to facilitate future operations.

Improved security
The whole security structure has been reviewed. All security methods (encryption, encoding and hashing) have been updated with the latest and most secure technologies.

Search improvements
The ‘quick search’ and ‘search on keywords’ can now search in multiple fields, such as: email, address, custom fields and account number. Using the permissions, the admin can define what fields will be included in the keyword and quick search. It is also possible to disable the User search as a whole, meaning it won’t be visible in the menu.

One time password (OTP)
An OTP (One Time Password) can be used instead of a fixed transaction password. When a payment is submitted by a user, a temporary password code (OTP) will be sent by SMS and/or email (depending on the configuration). The user will need to put the temporary code in the payment form in order to validate and process the payment.
From the previous Cyclos version (4.3) onwards, it has been possible to require an OTP when a user wants to change his email or mobile phone number. An OTP was sent to the new email address or mobile phone number. Now it possible to validate both the old and new email or mobile phone with an OTP. This makes the process more secure.

Wordpress plugin
There is now a wordpress plugin available that can be used to integrate the user user login in a wordpress website. When the user logs out (from Cyclos) he will be brought back to the wordpress site. The password retrieval option is available from the wordpress site. In the future more features will be added (e.g. user directory, advertisements search).

Other improvements and minor new features are:
- Various API enhancements
- Improved search engine (better results, faster, multiple language support)
- Improved user export (all fields & addresses)
- CSV export for transaction list
- Amount filter in account history
- Improved notifications handling
- General search on payment requests
- Import transactions now available for automated (scheduled) tasks

For more information about Cyclos and the Social Trade Organisation, please visit:
www.cyclos.org
www.socialtrade.org