Dear Sir/Madam,

We are happy to announce that Cyclos 4.8 can now be downloaded from our license server. Cyclos 4.8 has various new features and many improvements:

Quick QR payments
A business or consumer can generate a QR code for receiving a quick payment. The QR code can be generated in the Mobile app, the Web interface or a third party system (e.g. external Webshop). The generated QR code has a fixed receiver, and optional amount and description (depending on the payment configuration). The payer will just have to select the 'QR payment' option in the mobile app which will launch the camera. When the QR code is scanned the payment will be directly validated and the payment data (receiver, amount and description) is shown. The payer can now confirm the payment with one click. Both receiver and payer will get a direct (push) notification with the payment confirmation details, or, in case of an error, the payer will be shown a message with the error details (e.g. insufficient balance). The quick QR code payment can be implemented for any kind of consumer-to-business payment such as payments at Webshops, cash register or ATM, and also for consumer-to-consumer payments.
In case the payer does not have a smartphone with camera and the Cyclos app installed it is also possible to allow confirmation by user and password (in their web browser).
The payment uses a ticketing system which is very secure. With this tickets it is not possible for third parties to intercept or change any user sensitive information, because the payment can only be done from the Cyclos url. The shop on the other hand can connect to Cyclos using a secure channel (TLS/SSL) to verify if the payment really has been made.
The shop (payment receiver) has a complete live and historic overview of all tickets and status related to tickets.

Easy invoicing
Businesses and institutions can generate QR codes and payment URLs that contain the receiver, amount and description. The QR codes and URLs can be printed (on an invoice) or send by email to groups of users. The users can confirm the payment with their mobile phone (as described above) or by clicking the payment URL in the email.
And introduction and examples of the tickets and quick invoices can be found at this Cyclos wiki page: Easy invoicing and webshop ticketing quick steps

Easy fast register NFC cards by business (loyalty)
Businesses will now be able to register new users and assign (NFC) cards directly in one flow. Optionally businesses can also top up the account balance in the process.

File upload
Custom fields have now a new type 'File upload'. This makes it possible to add file uploads in pages such as user profile, payment and record. Multiple file uploads per field are supported. Permissions can be given to allow/disallow specific file types. If the file is of type image a thumbnail with a link will be showed when viewing the page.

Improved custom operations
A much requested feature was to have 'custom operations within custom operations'. This is now possible. When a custom operation returns content (e.g. a page or a list) one or more action buttons can appear. These action buttons are 'internal custom operations' that run their own script code. As with the main custom operation, the internal custom operations can be shown depending on business logic (e.g. the value of a certain field or a calculation, or limited to users of specific groups).
The custom operations structure is generic and very flexible. This means that there are many possible uses for it. It is possible to create 'wizard like' operations flows which will make it straightforward and comprehensive for the end user. An example script can be found here.
The custom operations will also be available for the mobile. It will be supported in the next mobile version (2.1).

Secondary password
For systems requiring a higher security level a secondary access password can be applied. This password will be requested after a successful login with the primary password. The secondary password can be applied to any channel. It will allow various combinations. For example an admin that logs in could be required to confirm with an OTP (one time password) that is sent to a validated mobile phone number.

Voucher improvements
- If the voucher type has a fixed value or a min/max amount range it will be displayed before buying a voucher.
- It is possible to define a minimal time between voucher creation/buying and redeeming. This means when a voucher is bought the voucher can only be used after a minimal amount of time has passed. The minimal time interval (date/hour) is now shown at the voucher.

Script debugging
On the script details page there is now a button 'Get code for debugging'. This will download a zip file with documentation how to run the code locally and how to debug it.

Service interceptor script type
A service interceptor is a new script type that allows running a script before or after any internal Cyclos method (of the entire internal services API.) For Cyclos elements for which dedicated extension points exists (e.g. payment, profile, advertisement), the extension point script type will remain the preferred method to add functionality using scripts.

Groovy Grape support
The Groovy Grape allows using any Maven dependency / libraries on scripts without the need to include those Jars in Cyclos.

Other improvements
- New option: Reset and send password by SMS
- Search users ads, new option to show random ads
- Support for phrase searches in keywords searches
- New filter option for general overview payment requests
- Go in details of payment request from general overview
- New option, set default date to 'today' for date type custom fields
- New option in transaction type: Ignore credit limit
- Keyword search in groups list
- Export records as CSV

New Mobile app
The mobile 2.0 is a milestone version with a new layout and many new features and improvements.

New layout
- The new layout has been optimized for all screens resolutions
- All main layout elements can be customized quickly with color pickers in the mobile theme
- The entry/login page can be a background color or image
- The mobile theme can be modified online in Cyclos, changes will be applied directly
- Different layout/themes can be applied for different user groups

Improved operation flows
Various operation flows have been improved. For example the receive payment, card management and map search has been completely redesigned. The Map has now also a 'find near me' option that can show business or member based on on the mobile GPS location.

Register user (create new account)
Users without a Cyclos account can register from the entry/login page.

Quick receive payment with QR code
Shop owners and other users that want to receive payments can generate a QR code (using the mobile app) which includes the amount to pay, the receiver, and an optional description. Users (payers) with a Cyclos app can select the 'Scan QR code' option at the payment page which opens their mobile phone camera. After the payer has scanned the QR code on the phone or display of the shop/receiver, the payment data will be shown and the payer can confirm with one click. After confirmation both payer and receiver will get a 'Push' confirmation message at their mobile, and an optional payment confirmation by email or SMS. Users can also generate and send a payment link using other channels like whatsapp or email.

Confirm webshop payments with QR code
Third party web shops or other organisations that want to add a Cyclos payment option can generate QR codes that can be integrated in their site or webshop. The buyer/payer can confirm the payment by scanning the QR code and confirming.

Full Rest API
The Mobile uses now the new Full REST API of Cyclos. This API is very well documented, and will provide backwards compatibility with previous versions.

Source code available
Medium and large license users can download the full source code of the mobile app for customization or extension.

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