The Green Sheet Online Edition
October 10, 2007 • 07:10:02
PIN protection for online purchases
In an age of data breaches and identity theft, account security is at a premium for e-merchants and consumers alike. ATM Direct's PIN Debit Service is for Internet retailers and consumers who desire an extra level of protection and security for online purchasing.
The PIN Debit Service is patent-pending, software-only technology, but it works like a debit card reader at your local supermarket.
After you key in your card number, the e-merchant's site prompts you to download the PIN Debit Service software to your computer, just like you would anti-virus software off of the Internet.
Then, a PIN pad screen pops open where you input your private, four digit PIN number using your mouse.
That information is then routed through ATM Direct's secure data center and authenticated directly with the consumer's bank, bypassing the merchant's system. Your PIN number, therefore, is never exposed.
Rather, it is transmitted through a secure network protected by industry leading security software technologies and protections, where it can't be easily logged or hacked.
No additional hardware is needed for the service, and it does not route consumers to a new window or Web page.
Since the payments are processed across electronic funds transfer networks (just like PIN debit transactions in the brick-and-mortar world) the service enables networks, banks and card issuers that already accept PIN debit to accept Internet PIN debit transactions with little or no changes to their infrastructure.
Fraud costs the U.S. economy billions every year. And, in a tight economy, consumers are more apt to use their debit cards for online purchases than their credit cards. As a consequence, the use of debit cards on the Internet continues to grow, and now reportedly outstrips the use of credit cards online.
But consumer fears over fraud and identity theft have dampened that growth. With PIN Debit Service, ATM Direct hopes to quell that fear and allow consumers to feel more secure about online shopping.
Robert Ziegler, General Manager for Pay By Touch-owned ATM Direct, said, "Consumers recognize PIN debit as a very secure form of payment, and the online PIN debit experience is the same. ... It's fast, easy and can help lower the risk of shopping cart abandonment."
2Checkout.com Inc., a leading e-commerce distribution company, has adopted the ATM Direct service to allow shoppers use of their debit cards with the additional protection of PIN security to safely buy goods online.
ATM Direct
214-596-0707
www.atmdirect.com
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