Caradas and XIRING Join Forces to Secure e-Commerce
15 October, 2002
category: Contactless, Education, Financial
Strategic Partnership Promotes Smart Card-Based e-Payments
BRAINTREE, Mass. and SEVRES, France, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ --
Caradas, Inc., a leading provider of smart card authentication technology, and
XIRING, a global provider of smart card based-security solutions, today
announced a strategic partnership to further increase consumer and merchant
confidence in e-commerce payments through the use of smart cards. As part of
the joint sales, marketing and distribution agreement, Caradas will integrate
its Connexus(TM) authentication platform with XIRING’s range of smart card
readers, providing a suite of authentication solutions that meet the diverse
needs of a global marketplace.
Initially, Caradas will integrate its Connexus Platform with XIRING’s
Xi-Sign(TM) cardholder authentication solution to support MasterCard’s
SecureCode initiative. SecureCode provides a standard, interoperable method
of passing accountholder authentication data among issuers, merchants, and
acquirers. The combination offers financial institutions a single
authentication solution they can deploy to take full advantage of the inherent
security of smart cards for securing Internet payments, eBanking financial
services and restricted Web-based services. The two companies will then
expand their offering to include additional applications.
“Our combined solution authenticates the payer in an e-commerce
transaction to a similar degree as a payer in a traditional face-to-face
transaction,” said Charles Walton, president and CEO of Caradas. “Together,
XIRING and Caradas are helping issuers and merchants drive increased card
usage while minimizing fraud and the costs associated with it.”
“By providing a consistent and secure cardholder authentication method
across channels and products, Caradas and XIRING give banks a clear
competitive advantage in their total customer delivery strategy,” said Georges
Liberman, president and CEO of XIRING. “Now, any financial institution can
deploy a single solution to secure Internet payments, eBanking financial
services and restricted Web-based services.”
The Connexus Platform is the first end-to-end solution for seamlessly
integrating new and existing applications and security infrastructures with a
broad range of identity, credential, access and relationship management
frameworks based on smart cards, PDAs, wireless devices and other intelligent
tokens. Using the Caradas Connexus Platform provides a universal platform for
smart card-based authentication services across all channels. The Connexus
platform easily integrates with the issuer’s legacy systems, including card
management, personalization and account management as well as with their new
virtual channel applications.
Based on a pocket-sized, stand-alone smart card reader, the XIRING Xi-Sign
authentication solution can be used to authorize and/or secure electronic
payments. Using the built-in cryptographic capabilities of the smart card,
the Xi-Sign reader generates a dynamic digital signature for authenticating
the cardholder during the payment process. The same technology can control
access to home banking applications and sign transactions such as money
transfers, stock trades and bill payments. Xi-Sign works with existing smart
cards such as MasterCard and Visa EMV credit and debit cards.
<br /><br />About XIRING
<br /><br />XIRING offers smart card-based solutions to secure transactions. In
partnership with major institutions (Visa, MasterCard, PWI and others), XIRING
develops solutions for authentication, digital signature and secure payment.
XIRING is also the worldwide leader of electronic purse readers with four
million readers in use daily in more than 20 countries around the world.
XIRING shareholders are Schlumberger, Chequers (Charterhouse/HSBC), Pechel
Industries and Natexis. For more information, visit XIRING at
http://www.XIRING.com .
About Caradas
Caradas, Inc. is a leading smart card application and credential
management platform provider to the financial services industry, working with
customers in growing their revenues, making them more profitable and
competitive. Caradas offers the Caradas Connexus Platform for smart card
application integration, along with a suite of solutions and services to
define and implement secure application infrastructures, including
MasterCard’s SecureCode solution for EMV. Caradas is headquartered in
Braintree MA, hosts Caradas Labs(TM) in Burlington MA, and has regional
offices in the San Francisco and Washington DC areas. Caradas team members
are acknowledged thought leaders and experts in applying smart card and
security technologies to financial services application infrastructure.
<br /><br />NOTE: Connexus and Caradas Labs are trademarks of Caradas, Inc. Xi-Sign
is a trademark of XIRING. All other products and services mentioned are
trademarks of their respective companies.