IBM Begins SET Secure Electronic Transaction Compliance Testing

Next step in easing consumer worries about Internet security and enabling the growth of electronic commerce

SOMERS, N.Y (April 02, 1998) – Underscoring its push to increase worldwide business confidence in electronic commerce, IBM today announced that it has extended its support of the SET Secure Electronic TransactionTM protocol by beginning the formal compliance testing process established by SET Secure Electronic Transaction LLC.
Upon successful completion of the SETTM compliance testing process, IBM’s CommercePOINT* payment family of Internet products will assure IBM customers that online transactions made using the company’s payment software are protected by the high levels of identification, authentication and confidentiality inherent in the SET protocol. Additionally, IBM customers will benefit from the increased interoperability with solutions offered by others in the industry that have passed SET compliance testing.
IBM CommercePOINT is the industry’s first suite of end-to-end solutions that enable more secure, quick and easy credit card commerce on the Internet. The payment suite integrates SET into all phases of an electronic commerce transaction, from the consumer, to the merchant and to the acquiring bank’s processor. The result is a complete solution that makes online purchasing more secure for consumers and merchants.
The IBM CommercePOINT payment family consists of:
IBM CommercePOINT Wallet — Certificate and transaction management software that allows end-users to place, track and manage purchases and associated SET protocol certificates;
IBM CommercePOINT eTill — A Java-based solution that provides merchants with the ability to acquire and process encrypted and digitally signed transactions for SET from a SET wallet;
IBM CommercePOINT Gateway — A payment processing application based on the SET protocol that offers an interface between the Internet and existing non-Internet credit card processing systems;
IBM Registry — Enables card-issuing companies to assign digital certificates to customers to help identify customers in online transactions.
The SET protocol helps to safeguard payments and purchases made over open public networks through the use of advanced encryption technology. Encryption protects the transactions from being intercepted or altered. In addition, digital certificates electronically identify each party involved in a transaction, helping assure that the person at each end of the Internet connection is who he or she claims to be and has the authority to pay or receive payments.
The SET specification was originally developed by Visa International and MasterCard International in February 1996 with participation from leading technology companies around the world. SET Secure Electronic Transaction LLC (commonly referred to as SETCo) was established by Visa and MasterCard in December 1997 as a legal entity to manage and promote the global adoption of SET. American Express Company and JCB Company Ltd are joining as charter members of SETCo and will become co-owners of the entity to further enhance the worldwide acceptance of SET as the global standard for secure payments over the Internet.
“Consumers and e-businesses that want to conduct business over the Web are looking for security. SET provides identification, authentication and encryption of online transactions, raising the level of confidence people have in e-commerce,” said Mark Greene, IBM vice president of Internet payment and certification. “By working to certify our products as SET compliant, we help assure our customers that their online transactions are processed safely and readily.”

Source: IBM

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