November 29, 2011 09:08 AM Eastern Time
First industry consortium to address Internet PIN debit as the cross-border payment method of choice
ATLANTA--()--Acculynk today announces the formation of the International Internet PIN Acceptance Consortium, for the purpose of enabling secure internet payments across international borders by establishing Acculynk’s PaySecure as the standard for processing internet PIN-debit transactions internationally.
The Consortium’s mission is to enable internet PIN debit as a secure payment method for e-commerce merchants, financial institutions and online consumers across international borders. The purpose of the Consortium is to collaborate with networks and financial institutions in target markets to prioritize the integration of PaySecure, as well as to develop solutions necessary to ensure full compatibility across the array of processes adopted by individual markets.
“We need to ensure, as a collective body, that we establish mutually beneficial processes that facilitate the growth in international e-commerce by offering consumers easy, secure options for internet PIN debit.”
Currently cross-border e-commerce is hampered by the inability of merchants based in one country to accept payment from a consumer whose debit card is issued by a bank based in a different country. As internet transaction volume continues to grow globally each year and as the number of debit cards issued grows and consumer use of debit card increases, the ability to handle cross border transactions is becoming essential for consumers and e-commerce merchants. The Consortium will work to build a consensus among merchants and issuers to optimize growth in global e-commerce. The Consortium members plan to advance cross-border commerce with Canada and Latin America first and then rapidly progress beyond these countries.
“Consumers are driving the need for cross-border e-commerce. We believe that, together with this group of leading merchants, we can help establish standards that will allow us all to better meet consumers’ needs and help solve a real business problem for merchants,” notes Ashish Bahl, CEO, Acculynk. “We are involved in launching this Consortium because we enable PIN debit for e-commerce and can help merchants make cross-border e-commerce a reality with minimum investment.”
“Having this type of Consortium is important to the airline industry. PaySecure’s innovative solution for facilitating internet PIN debit acceptance in the US, offers a simple, cost-effective model that can readily be established as a standard for international e-commerce,” said Frank DiNuzzo, Managing Director, Market Performance of American Airlines. “We need to ensure, as a collective body, that we establish mutually beneficial processes that facilitate the growth in international e-commerce by offering consumers easy, secure options for internet PIN debit.”
The majority of consumers outside the US hold PIN-only debit cards which currently cannot be used for cross border internet purchases due to difference in transaction authentication and processing. Many countries do not maintain the infrastructure to support the underwriting of consumers for credit cards. An international standard based on PaySecure’s Internet PIN debit will enable millions of consumers worldwide to transact with internet retailers both in-country and across borders.
Membership in the Consortium is currently open to internet retailers and airlines that have partnered with Acculynk for PaySecure, but the Consortium is considering extending membership to all leading e-commerce merchants. The Consortium currently meets once a quarter as a formal body.
About Acculynk
Acculynk secures online transactions with a suite of software-only services backed by a patented authentication and encryption framework that provides greater security for issuers, EFT networks, merchants and payment processors. Acculynk’s PaySecure®utilizes a graphical PIN-pad for the secure entry of a consumer’s PIN online and is available to merchants through existing acquirer relationships, enabling speedy implementation. PaySecure is currently enabled on over 3,000 merchant websites. Acculynk has partnerships with 9 EFT networks to process PaySecure transactions and with six leading payment processors, and is certified with PULSE, First Data and Master Card, among other key industry leaders. Visit http://www.acculynk.com.
