Verizon Business provides professional services support and expertise to obtain Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification for Monext's processing system, Payline.

Monext is a major provider of secure electronic transaction solutions for French banking and financial organizations which now employs more than 400 people. Payline, Monext's secure online payment solution, was one of the first of its kind on the market, and now handles more than 5 million transactions each month for a variety of high-profile French and international banks, e-commerce organizations and retailers.

The PCI DSS initiative was established in 2004 to combat credit card misuse and fraud, and compliance is now obligatory for all global companies that collect, process or store credit card data. E-commerce companies, traders or service providers undergo a quarterly audit of their IT Infrastructure by an external auditor; non-compliance results in high fines and greater business-transaction fees.

For Monext, PCI DSS-compliant services and architectures are absolutely business-critical in order to be able to deliver proactive protection of valuable confidential data and support the company's corporate reputation. As a result, Monext needed a supplier with which it could build a long-term relationship - it does not view security as a one-hit approach, but rather as a key element of its ongoing business strategy.

Ludovic Denis, president of Monext, commented: "Our security requirements are constantly evolving, so we needed a supplier who was able to offer us evolving and fully up-to-date expertise of both general security issues and the specifics of the certification process. The Verizon Business Security Solutions team has demonstrated a keen understanding of our local needs in the context of global issues, and has the local support capabilities and the strategic vision we need to help support our future business goals. By working with them, we have not only achieved our compliance goal, but also improved the overall efficiency of our daily business activities."

Toufic Daaboul, PCI DSS development manager for Verizon Business, said: "Companies like Monext need a security services provider that can provide a holistic approach to PCI DSS compliance, combining consulting and technical support with implementation and service capabilities. Verizon Business' strong expertise in the security market, combined with the company's global presence and demonstrable track record, gave Monext the peace of mind it required in choosing a security partner."

Monext is working with the Verizon Business Security Solutions team on several other projects over the next coming year.