Acculynk Inc. is beginning to test the international market with PaySecure, its Internet PIN-debit product, and has inked an agreement with Evertec Inc. in Puerto Rico.
Evertec, a merchant acquirer and transaction processor, owns and operates the ATH PIN-debit and ATM network in Puerto Rico. The company plans to offer Acculynk’s PaySecure to its network participants later this year, according to a press release.
“This deal helps us test the waters [internationally],” Ashish Bahl, CEO of Acculynk, told PaymentsSource last week before the deal was announced Sept. 13.
Acculynk also is attempting to negotiate three agreements with electronic funds transfer networks in the Asia-Pacific region and one agreement in Latin America. Bahl is not sure those deals will be finalized because Acculynk faces competition in those regions from other companies.
“I’m not sure if those other agreements will come to closure because in those other countries, we’re competing with local card schemes and something like [MasterCard Worldwide’s] SecureCode,” Bahl says.
The Evertec deal makes some 3.5 million debit cards eligible for PaySecure purchases at merchants who support the technology. Bahl notes the majority of those cards enable only PIN transactions and are not equipped to initiate online signature transactions.
“We are targeting merchants that have huge footprints in Puerto Rico right now [to support PaySecure] and run the gamut from airlines to retailers,” Bahl says.
PaySecure is currently enabled on some 3,000 merchant websites in the U.S.
Acculynk enables consumers to use PIN-debit cards to make purchases online by integrating its PaySecure software into a merchant’s online-checkout system. Cardholders use their computer’s mouse to enter their four or six-digit PINs into an Acculynk virtual PIN pad that appears on the computer’s monitor.
While Acculynk continues to build EFT network support, Bahl admits it has been difficult to secure some top-tier issuers to support PaySecure because they are still planning which direction to take as a result of the Durbin amendment.
“They all have specific strategies,” he says. “Some will try to come up with products like a charge card and those left with debit [might] be moved to Internet PIN-debit because it’s more secure [than signature-PIN].”
Patricia Hewitt, the director of the debit advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group in Maynard, Mass, tells PaymentsSource Acculynk’s success will still depend on issuer and consumer adoption despite building processor and network relationships.
“Until they're able to begin articulating usage, the jury is still out on whether or not this solution will be widely successful in the market,” she says.
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback.
