Online payment provider SafetyPay Inc. has inked a deal with the Brazil-based bank Banrisul to enable the bank’s 3 million customers to use its platform to make online purchases from international merchants, the firm announced Jan. 5.
The program, which includes a variety of promotions from online merchants, is the latest milestone in Miami-based SafetyPay’s efforts to expand its online-payment platform, which has a number of participating merchants and financial institutions in Europe and Latin America. The firm also is testing its payment platform in the U.S. (
Launched in 2006, SafetyPay enables consumers to complete online purchases that settle immediately through their bank’s online-banking platform; SafetyPay settles the transactions using the automated clearinghouse system.
The technology provides a secure channel for e-commerce transactions, especially in regions where credit card issuance and use is low and online fraud is relatively high, Manuel Montero, SafetyPay CEO, said in a press release.
“Many merchants in Latin American have fraud filters in place that prevent credit card payments,” exacerbating the region’s “quite low” credit card penetration, Montero explains. SafetyPay enables bank customers to make local and cross-border online purchases without fear of fraud, he notes.
SafetyPay in September announced the addition of 1 million new customers through a similar partnership with Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (
SafetyPay experienced 200% growth in transaction volume from January through November 2010, particularly in Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica and Spain, a spokesperson for the firm says. The firm has raised $24 million in capital funding to date, she says.
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