Enhancing the services it provides to merchants using its transaction-processing services, the Shazam electronic funds network on Aug. 23 unveiled an innovation it says will streamline merchants’ processes, particularly when authorizing PIN-debit transactions online.
Shazam earlier this year began supporting online PIN-debit payments on its network through a relationship with Acculynk Inc. (
The Johnston, Iowa-based network is building on those services with its new “dual-message” product, which enables merchants to separate authorization and settlement for PIN-based transactions, a capability previously available only with signature-based credit and debit card transactions.
The dual-message capability enables merchants to post multiple transactions associated with a single PIN-debit transaction authorization, which often comes into play during e-commerce transactions where certain products in an order are not available when the consumer pays, Dan Kramer, Shazam senior vice president of marketing and merchant services, tells PaymentsSource.
Current rules enable merchants to use a single authorization for multiple transactions within a signature credit or debit transaction, but until now merchants did not have that option for PIN-debit, Kramer says.
“A high number of e-commerce and other PIN-debit transactions get hung up when a customer or a merchant makes changes to their transaction or order because certain merchandise isn’t available or will be shipped later, causing merchants to do multiple authorizations for what is really just one transaction,” he explains.
Merchants also may use the dual-message feature to separate authorization and settlement at brick-and-mortar locations, Kramer says.
But Kramer expects the dual-message product to be especially useful to online merchants.
“We’ve received requests from many online retailers to support more of their transaction processing and fulfillment, and from their perspective the ability to separate authorization and settlement will save them a lot of time and reduce steps in completing customers’ orders,” he says.
Shazam developed its dual-message product with the aid of key partnerships with other technology providers, including Acculynk and Adaptive Payments, Kramer says. Shazam recently inked a joint venture with Adaptive (
Shazam also is adding new technology to support chip-and-PIN transaction acceptance among its merchants, Kramer says. “As the U.S. moves to adopt chip card technology, we are moving to be ready to support both chip and chip-and-PIN transactions,” he says.
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