Ezic Adds Verified by Visa to its Fraud Protection Arsenal

May 2003 (Chicago, Illinois) - Ezic, 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," said Locke Walsh, CEO of Ezic. "Proper security entails an entire arsenal of tools that can prevent attacks on the network, as well as unauthorized access by internal users. Ezic 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 Ezic solution.

Some ISOs are currently being approached by independent contractors who offer Verified by Visa. Ezic 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," said Brad Bialas, Vice President, Sales and Business Development for Ezic. "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.

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