VISA DELIVERS NEW SECURE INTERNET SHOPPING SOLUTION
Financial Institutions to Pilot Visa Authenticated Payment in Canada
Toronto, ON, 6/27/2001
Visa Canada today announced that it will join forces with Canadian financial institutions in a national pilot of its new online Authenticated Payment Program providing the next level of security for Internet consumer payment transactions. Participants in the pilot include CIBC, La Confédération des caisses populaires et d`économie Desjardins du Québec, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Bank Financial Group, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union and a number of Canadian e-merchants including Dell Canada, DVD Box Office, Grocery Gateway, RadioShack Canada, and Sony of Canada Ltd.
The Visa Authenticated Payment Program will reduce disputes related to online consumer payment transactions. It will increase online business volume and profit margins for merchants by providing a fully reliable means of verifying the identity of online customers no matter where they are located. Building on existing security measures, the Authenticated Payment Program pilots will be rolled out in stages over the next year. Each financial institution is determining the scope of the pilot and will target select merchants and customers during the pilot phase.
“Canadian merchants and consumers want additional security and protection for online shopping transactions,” said Derek Fry, President, Visa Canada. “Once fully implemented, consumers can feel more confident with enhanced security while merchants will know they are doing business with cardholders who have been verified.”
The technology behind the Visa Authenticated Payment Program allows the cardholder’s financial institution to authenticate cardholders online, while protecting the privacy of transmissions and ensuring that data in transmission remains unchanged. Merchants and financial institutions in the U.S. and in other markets around the world are piloting the program.
“The Visa Authenticated Payment Program was designed to be safe and simple. To verify the authenticity of the cardholder, online shoppers simply input their password or other form of identification while making an online transaction,” explained Susan MacKeown, Director, e-Visa Canada. “Cardholders can feel as confident using a password online as they do using a signature or Personal Identification Number (PIN) in the physical world.”
Over the last few years, Visa and its members have introduced a variety of measures to enhance the security of e-commerce transactions and build consumer confidence. The new Authenticated Payment Program complements these initiatives and builds on the 2000 Visa Canada launch of Zero Cardholder Liability, a policy eliminating cardholder liability for fraudulent use of their credit card both in the physical and virtual world.
“E-merchants are looking for ways to verify the authenticity of cardholders during online transactions,” said Michael Eubanks, Vice President, Information Technology and E-commerce, Retail Council of Canada. “We are committed to working with Visa Canada to introduce this program to Canadian e-merchants.”
Visa has worked with more than 50 leading Internet solution providers to facilitate the deployment of Visa Authenticated Payment. To ensure successful implementation of vendors’ authentication products, Visa is providing certification testing at its Interoperability Validation Facilities.
Visa Authenticated Payment and the Account Information Security Program are complementary programs within Visa’s Global Secure E-Commerce Initiative. The Account Information Security Program was recently introduced to establish global standards and Best Business Practices for e-commerce merchants helping them better protect the privacy and integrity of cardholder data on their Web sites. Visa’s Best Business Practices and standards are accessible to merchants on the Visa Web site at www.visa.com/secured.
As the “World’s Best Way To Pay”, Visa is the leading credit card payment brand in Canada with more than 23.6 million Visa cards accepted at more than 574,000 merchant locations across the country. Visa Canada plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 26 Member financial institutions and their cardholders. Canadians will put $100 billion of volume on their Visa cards in 2001 and Visa-branded cards are accepted at over 16,800 ATMs in Canada. The Internet address for Visa is www.visa.com.
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