LOS GATOS, Calif., July, 31 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- QSI Payments, a global provider of e-payments infrastructure software and secure payments solutions, and Arcot Systems, Inc., a leading provider of solutions for securing e-business, have entered into an OEM agreement whereby QSI Payments will market the Arcot(tm) TransFort payment authentication solution with the QSI Secura family of transaction authentication solutions. This combined offering is a new implementation of Visa's global Authenticated Payment Program that addresses the needs of banks that both issue cards (issuing banks) and process merchant payments (acquiring banks).
The worldwide OEM agreement will enable QSI Payments and Arcot to provide Visa member banks that both issue credit cards and process merchant transactions with an integrated solution that authenticates parties to an online financial transaction.
The goal of Visa's global Authenticated Payment Program is to dramatically reduce the incidence and cost of fraud and disputed online transactions thereby increasing cardholder confidence and satisfaction, and reducing related costs to both merchants and member banks. The accompanying design goal is to accomplish this with a minimum impact on the existing transaction process and cardholder experience.
"We are very pleased to be working with Arcot to provide our banking customers with a cost- and time-effective option for implementing Visa's new 3-D Secure standard," said Tony Bates, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at QSI. "With a single product, banks will be able to provide both their cardholders and merchants with unprecedented levels of security for online commerce."
"The Arcot TransFort payment authentication solution, combined with QSI's Secura products, will provide a compelling and unique authentication service to customers who participate in both the card issuing and merchant payment processing parts of the Visa payment network," added Chet Silvestri, CEO and President of Arcot.
Inherent functionality in the QSI Payment Server enables acquirers and issuers to easily participate in one or all card association payer authentication programs with no changes in merchant software, administration or reporting processes. Furthermore, merchants need only undergo a simple, one-time integration of payment software to participate in all forms of authenticated payment.
Visa Authenticated Payment Program
Visa Authenticated Payment is a comprehensive e-commerce program designed to ensure safe and secure online payment transactions.
When a customer enters their Visa card number in an online checkout form and hits the buy button, a software module at the merchant site alerts the card-issuing bank that someone is using a 3-D Secure enrolled Visa card to make a purchase. The bank then requests that the customer authenticate himself or herself by entering a pass-code (or other means of authentication) in an authentication screen that appears on the customer's PC (PDA or cellular phone).
Once authenticated, the bank validates the transaction for the merchant thereby greatly reducing the merchant's exposure to fraud and dispute. The Visa Authenticated Payment Program offers dramatic benefits in fraud reduction and increased confidence to the customer and merchant with virtually no change in the online purchasing process. Visa Authenticated Payment Program builds upon the company's Global Secure E-Commerce Initiative launched in June 2000.
About QSI Secura
The QSI Secura family of card association products includes payment solutions for 3-D Secure and 3-D SET. These solutions operate seamlessly with the QSI Payment Server, the centerpiece of QSI's native 3-domain Universal Payments Architecture (UPA).
The QSI suite of products provides the necessary encryption and digital signature technology to authenticate merchant-to-bank and bank-to-merchant communications, guaranteeing the identification of both parties in the Internet environment. This ensures that during Internet transactions, cardholder details are kept safe by re-routing customer submissions directly to the bank server rather than routing them to the merchant's Web server.
About Arcot TransFort
Arcot TransFort strongly authenticates and digitally signs transactions in real-time, providing for the secure, non-repudiation of online payments. Scalable to hundreds of millions of transactions, Arcot TransFort allows companies to grow the volume and value of their online transactions and provide their customers with an added level of confidence and security in the business relationship.
Arcot TransFort is a multi-platform solution capable of authenticating transactions across Web, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and wireless environments. In addition, Arcot TransFort can comply with a variety of business rules or procedures that govern online payments and support multiple authentication methods including standard X.509 Digital Certificates, Smart Cards (or "Chip Cards") and Pass-code.
About QSI Payments
QSI Payments is a global provider of e-payments infrastructure software and secure payments solutions. QSI Payments' unique software enables financial institutions, enterprises and their respective customers to transact e-payments in a secure and authenticated manner. The company developed the first smart card debit system in 1996 and has implemented electronic payment solutions across the globe in the United States, Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom.
QSI Payments has received international recognition for its Universal Payment Architecture and has developed strategic partnerships with technology leaders such as Compaq, Sun Microsystems and SAP. QSI Payments sets itself apart from the competition by addressing the industry's needs for increased security, authentication, scalability and bank branding through its unique e-payments architecture that offers unlimited flexibility and absolute control. Visit QSI Payments on the Web at www.qsipayments.com.
About Arcot
Arcot Systems, Inc., is the leading provider of authentication and access control solutions for securing e-business in Internet-scale, transactional and wireless environments. Only Arcot provides cost-effective, scalable, software-based solutions for strongly authenticating users and transactions and managing access for payment systems, B2B extranets, Web portals and virtual private networks. Arcot solutions meet the business need for strong transactional security while providing the customer a user-friendly experience with anytime, anywhere convenience. Leaders in financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce are using Arcot solutions to protect their customers' privacy and reduce fraud. For more information, visit www.arcot.com.
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