Merchant Provider To Offer NYCE’s SafeDebit Product

CardinalCommerce Corp., a Cleveland-based payment-security company, Monday announced it will begin offering SafeDebit, an Internet-debit product from NYCE Payments Network LLC, to merchants as part of its Centinel service. The service enables merchants to accept payment-authentication programs and alternative-payment brands independent of online payment gateways, shopping-cart software and processors. Merchants also can choose between such payment methods as Verified by Visa, MasterCard SecureCode, Amazon Payments, RevolutionCard and Moneta. CardinalCommerce “is a critical piece of infrastructure that compliments what we’ve already built,” Steve Rathgaber, NYCE president, tells CardLine sister publication ATM&Debit News. “This [partnership] allows us to fire up a group of merchants to enable a rollout in a materially significant commercial fashion.” SafeDebit creates virtual debit card information for one-time use and automatically fills in the required payment fields on the merchant’s checkout screen. No PIN is required, but the consumer still must use a user name and password similar to online banking login credentials. “This is an opportunity to bring what we feel is a very high-quality debit product to the market,” says CardinalCommerce CEO Michael Keresman. CardinalCommerce is discussing SafeDebit with its merchant partners but would not say whether any are accepting the payment form. The company provides services for 30,000 merchants including Continental Airlines Inc., RitzCamera.com, and online travel agency Travelocity. Rathgaber expects SafeDebit transactions to flow by the end of the month. Keresman believes demand exists for an Internet-debit product because consumers increasingly want to use brick-and-mortar payment methods in an online environment. Consumers are saying “if I can use [debit] at the grocery store or dry cleaner, then why can’t I use this payment method online?” he says.