| May 2003 (Chicago,
Illinois) - Key IC, a leader in high performance digital payment
processing solutions, announced today that it has added Verified
by Visa, a cardholder authentication process developed
by Visa, to its already robust fraud protection solution.
According to Celent Communications, fraudulent transactions
account for more than 2 percent of online card spending, compared
with 0.1 percent for in-store charges. Verified by Visa
is particularly important for card-not-present transactions
(such as those made online) because it protects merchants
(who offer Verified by Visa authentication at their
sites) from fraudulent use of consumer Visa cards. Proper
security entails an entire arsenal of tools that can prevent
attacks on the network, as well as unauthorized access by
internal users. Key IC has always been the leader in fraud
protection, and adding Verified by Visa ensures that
our customers need not look in a variety of places for a full
protection package.
Verified by Visa requires Visa users to register
an associated personal password to their card. When they shop
at an online site that has added Verified by Visa
to their site, they will be prompted for that password.
Merchants are seeing the tremendous importance of adding
Verified by Visa to their sites. In card-not-present
transactions, the merchant becomes responsible for chargebacks
(sometimes known as "I didn't do it charges" which
often result from identity theft or stolen card use.) Without
fraud protection such as Verified by Visa, merchants
stand to lose revenue and incur other costs and fees when
charges are contested.
As for Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) and their agents
who provide merchant accounts to the merchants, they would
be wise to choose a payment provider that is offering Verified
by Visa protection. The burgeoning numbers of consumers
(over 10 million by October 2002, according to Visa) signing
up for this program shows that they will demand this added
level of fraud protection. Further, merchants are more educated
and know that the liability shift away from them is an absolute
must if they are to remain in business and profitable.
According to Ed Freedman, President/CEO of Total Merchant
Services, one of the larger ISOs in the country, one of the
most important things for ISOs to consider is that banks and
processors are giving out fewer (ISO) contracts. Their requirements
are becoming stricter. "Ultimately, at the end of the
day, I see a lot of consolidation and few players in our industry
as far as major ISO's," he said. That's why, the ISO's
that want to remain in the game need to arm themselves with
tools like Verified by Visa, and FraudBarricade™,
a series of fraud protection tools exclusive to the Key IC
solution.
Some ISOs are currently being approached by independent contractors
who offer Verified by Visa. Key IC believes that
a total solution is always best, which is why they've added
Verified by Visa even though they believe their existing FraudBarricade™
tools already make them virtually impenetrable. We think our
ISOs' relationships with their customers will be strengthened
and secured because of our total offering. What our ISOs have
told us is that they are not willing to 'share' their merchants
with independent Verified by Visa vendors because they feel
it jeopardizes their present and future one-on-one relationships
with 'their' merchants.
Merchants and service providers can both benefit from Payer
Authentication tools like Verified by Visa. Merchants
receive liability protection for most fraud-related chargebacks,
and service providers like ISOs can strengthen their relationships
with merchant customers by offering a valuable service while
increasing their profits.
For information on the Key IC digital payment
processing solution and its arsenal of fraud protection tools,
including Verified by Visa contact a Key IC sales representative
today at info@keyic.com.
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