US-based Internet payments firm SafeTPay (www.safetpay.net) has opened a European operation.
"SafeTPay Europe expands online options for users in the international marketplace," says Frode Thengs Vik, co-founder and director of SafeTPay Europe. "Europeans are accustomed to using ATM Cards for purchases in 'brick and mortar' stores; now they will be able to use one card for those as well as for Internet purchases from European and North American web sites."
Based in Oslo, Norway, SafeTPay Europe will market the SafeTPay service and operate data centres (Internet payment gateways) throughout Europe. European Internet merchants who sign up for the service will be able to accept consumer payments via secure PIN-based cash card transactions.
"Establishing SafeTPay Europe enables us to provide safe B2B and B2C Internet payments on an international basis," says Harry Hargens, co-founder and CEO of SafeTPay USA. "Internet businesses on both continents will know that the payments they receive, whether B2B or B2C, are secure from tampering and free of the high fees, chargebacks, and fraud concerns merchants face today with credit card payments."
SafeTPay uses a PIN Pad and card reader attached to the consumer's PC, for the transmission of payment data to bank processors. With SafeTPay, merchants do not see or store consumer's payment data. The first such device certified for use on the SafeTPay system is provided by Innovonics.
The SafeTPay system also supports credit card transactions as "card present." This results in a lower cost to the merchant since credit card companies levy higher charges for fraud prone "without card present" transactions.
Launched in autumn 1999, SafeTPay has applied for a patent for its process for securely transmitting transactions (including ATM-card transactions with PIN) over the Internet.