Expanded Charge-back Liability Protection For Online Retail
What Every Merchant Needs To Know About Payer Authentication
Austin, TX – April 24, 2003 - Beginning earlier this month, online retail merchants enabled with Verified by Visa, the cardholder authentication program from Visa, became eligible to receive expanded liability protection from fraud related charge-backs for authentication ‘attempts’. Julie Fergerson, Co-Founder of ClearCommerce, a provider of risk management software for online retail, and Co-Chair of the Merchant Fraud Squad, a non-profit group dedicated to helping merchants fight Internet fraud, offers important information to merchants about Payer Authentication programs.
What is Payer Authentication?
Payer Authentication is a new technology solution created by the credit card associations to provide valuable benefits for both retail merchants and online consumers. Marketed as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode, these programs ensure authentication of credit card holders with their issuing bank, eliminating merchant liability for the most common fraud-related charge-backs, and providing confidence to consumers that their cards cannot be used for fraudulent purchases.
How Do The Programs Work?
Consumers enroll their Visa or MasterCard credit cards in the Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode programs at their issuing bank’s web site. During the enrollment, they choose a password to associate with their card. When they use that card at a merchant enabled for Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode, they are prompted by their issuing bank to “sign" for the purchase with their password.
What Is The Expanded Charge-Back Liability Protection?
Until now, merchants have received charge-back protection only for transactions that were authenticated through the programs by the issuing banks. In other words, the merchant was required to offer authentication, the consumer must have been enrolled with Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, and the issuing bank enabled to authenticate the cardholder.
Effective April 5, 2003, merchants can also receive protection for attempted Verified by Visa transactions. As long as the merchant is enabled and attempts to authenticate the Payer, they will receive significant charge-back protection for Visa transactions even if the consumer and / or issuer are not participating in Verified by Visa.
What Do Merchants Need?
Merchants will need either software or a hosted service to enable their web site for Payer Authentication. Both types of solutions easily integrate to a merchant`s checkout process and efficiently manage the authentication process.
It is important to make sure that the solution supports the latest specification from Visa, 3DSecure1.0.2, which is required for merchant charge-back liability protection on attempted Verified by Visa transactions. In addition, the solution should support the multiple card association’s payer authentication approaches through a single, common module, including both Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. The merchant bears no liability for charge-backs with the following reason codes: 23,52,61,77, or 83.
For more information about Payer Authentication, please contact ClearCommerce by email at info@clearcommerce.com, or on the web at www.clearcommerce.com. You may also call toll free, 1-888-725-9345.
About ClearCommerce
Austin, Texas-based ClearCommerce is a leading provider of e-commerce risk management and payment processing software that enables merchants and service providers to safeguard and automate online financial transaction processing. ClearCommerce software is used by more than 60,000 businesses worldwide, including customers such as Apple Computer, Barclay’s, Best Buy, Chase Merchant Services, PETsMART, and Staples. ClearCommerce solutions feature patent-pending risk management technology as well as real-time payment processing. For more information, visit www.clearcommerce.com.
MediaContacts:
Chris Oake
Oake Public Relations
(781) 248-6513
coake@oakepr.com
Michael Staley
ClearCommerce Corporation
(512) 977-5418
mstaley@clearcommerce.com
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