In an effort to help the payments industry better understand its Internet-PIN debit product, PaySecure, Acculynk Inc. has formed an advisory council as the Atlanta-based company prepares to expand its presence in the marketplace.
The council initially includes Acculynk’s partner EFT networks, including Fiserv Inc.’s Accel/Exchange, Alaska Option Services Corp., Credit Union 24, Discover Financial Services’ Pulse network and Shazam.
The council’s initial agenda is to establish the processes, procedures, rules and best practices around PaySecure for Internet PIN debit, according to a company statement.
“We have a growing interest in this product and there are a lot of things that have to be tackled such as chargebacks, refunds and the role merchants and issuers” have in a PaySecure transaction, Acculynk Inc. CEO Ashish Bahl tells PaymentsSource.
Acculynk plans to add merchants and issuers to the council, but starting with the networks that are actually testing PaySecure made the most sense, according to Bahl. Accel/Exchange last year became the first EFT network to commercially roll out PaySecure support.
“Having this type of Council is important for the EFT network industry as a whole because PaySecure is rapidly becoming an established product that merchants are implementing, consumers are using and issuers are adopting,” Michael Kelly, general manager of ACCEL/Exchange, says in a statement.
This council is the second such organization to form in the past six months. The Secure Remote Payment Council last year formed with the goal of promoting a set of best practices for payments companies involved in with Internet-PIN debit and mobile transactions.
The difference, Bahl says, is Acculynk’s organization is totally focused on the PaySecure product. When asked if Acculynk would get involved with the Secure Remote Payment Council, Bahl indicates increasing PaySecure transactions is his primary goal.
“We need to be very careful on how we spend our time,” he adds.
Neither Bahl nor the Secure Remote Payment Council is concerned two organizations with nearly identical premises with cause confusion in the marketplace. Some EFT networks are involved with both organizations.
“We are not going to tell them not to get involved [with the other council],” Bahl says.
Paul Tomasofsky, president of Two Sparrows Consulting, the Secure Remote Payment Council’s president and executive director, believes there will be no conflict with the two organizations.
“We have a much more broader mission,” he says. “We are not going to endorse one product over another.”
Acculynk is more than welcome to join his organization, Tomasofsky says.
For now, Acculynk is busy setting an agenda for its next meeting with the EFT networks. “There is a high level of satisfaction with the networks about doing this,” Bahl says.
Acculynk is not exactly sure when it will add merchants and issuers to the mix, but they are an integral part of the PaySecure transaction, Bahl says.
