MONTREAL FIRM PLANS TO TEST HOME-USE CARD READER

Heightened attention to data breaches tied to point-of-sale software and online shopping carts is bolstering a security-engineering company's argument that the use of PINs on the Internet can be done securely only using a payment card terminal that (easily) attaches to consumers' personal computers. (in milliseconds)

HomeATM ePayment Solutions, which is based in Montreal, is close to piloting a personal card-swipe device and PIN pad that consumers plug directly into a PC's USB port. The system requires no installation or software. When consumers check out at a participating merchant's Web site, the site prompts them to use the device to swipe their card and enter their PIN to complete a transaction. If a retailer conducts a successful pilot, the hardware will provide peace of mind for the consumer while turning card-not-present interchange rates to cheaper card-present rates for merchants, contends Kenneth Mages, HomeATM chairman and CEO. The company has an agreement with a major electronic funds network to begin the pilot, but first HomeATM wants to secure participation from a large, Tier 1 merchant, Mages says. Tier 1, or Level 1, merchants process more than 6 million transactions per year. The company is considering several merchants, including a major U.S.-based airline, which Mages declined to name. The device, called SafeTPIN, received Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certification two weeks ago.

Editor's Note:  The headline can be a little misleading. We don't "PLAN TO TEST" the device.  We tested it already.  Rigorously!  But, in order to prove our results were objective, it was thoroughly tested by a fully accredited outside resource.This from the Witham Laboratories website:

One of only eight in the world…

Among our many certifications, Witham Laboratories is the only organization in the Asia-Pacific region accredited by the PCI to test PIN Entry Devices (PEDs) - we are one of only eight organizations in the world with this accreditation. So, do we plan to pilot the device...yes.  Do we plan on testing it?  Done.

For more information on the accreditation process, visit Witham Labs.

For more information visit: www.HomeATM.net

HomeATM, Cardline, Ken Mages, SafeTPIN