Retail Logic kick-starts Payer Authentication

- CNP Managed service protects merchants quickly and simply

London, February 1st, 2005. Coinciding with the Retail Fraud conference being held at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square today, Retail Logic is announcing a new service to combat the growing threat of online fraud.

While Chip & PIN increasingly makes life difficult for fraudsters on the high street, Customer Not Present (CNP) transactions now form the largest single element of card fraud in the UK. According to Visa Europe, E-commerce transactions are typically 17 times more likely to be disputed and charged back than transactions undertaken face to face. With payer authentication in place, fraud and disputed transaction rates are reduced by up to 80%.

"Now that Chip & PIN has happened, Visa, MasterCard and the banks are turning their attention to promoting the benefits of payer authentication to both cardholders and merchants," says Retail Logic Marketing Director Mark McMurtrie. "While many online merchants are keen to protect themselves – and their customers - they often lack the resources and expertise to do so."

Through its Silverfleet-Opal software, Retail Logic now provides a simple route to the adoption of payer authentication. Using Managed Services enables merchants to benefit from both Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode online payer authentication, cutting fraud rates and protecting themselves against the cost of chargebacks. A range of anti-fraud measures such as address verification and card security code checking are also supported by the managed service using Solve/SE.

"With many retailers facing growing pressures on controlling costs, outsourcing their card processing to us has proved the most cost-effective route for many organisations," says Mark Sugden, Retail Logic's Director of Managed Services. "Outsourcing enables the fast adoption of new technologies while significantly reducing the need for investment in staff time, training and infrastructure.

"While there's been plenty of talk about increasing the security of CNP transactions, progress to date has been slow due to the many demands placed on merchant's in-house IT resources. Now, rather than having to develop or build new IT infrastructure, retailers can take advantage of Retail Logic’s considerable IT resources and expertise to roll out new payer authentication systems quickly and easily."

A survey of UK retailers carried out late last year by CyberSource International and Retail Logic revealed that UK businesses selling online forecast eCommerce revenues will grow by a massive 36% in 2005. According to the Interactive Media in Retail Group, twenty million UK shoppers will spend £17 billion online this year. By 2009, 25% of all UK shopping will be conducted via the web or mobile devices. Survey respondents saw payer authentication, address verification and card security code checking as the most important new methods of managing online fraud.

About Retail Logic:
The Retail Logic team has been providing payment processing software for over 16 years. Covering any form of payment card and transaction environment, Retail Logic’s software handles more than €145 billion a year. Investment in people and research & development, together with a clear focus on the needs of retailers, have led to award-winning products and UK market leadership.

Retail Logic's Managed Services provides an outsourced online authorisation and large volume EFT batch processing service. Over ten million transactions are processed each month for a wide range of customers such as DIY chains, furniture retailers, car rental, utility companies, Internet service providers and currency services.