CNPS Unleashed to Boost Online Sales and Combat 'Friendly Fraud' Chargebacks

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- US Digital Transactions Corporation (USDT) announced today SignatureLink® CNPS technology has successfully completed beta testing and is available to provide protection for online merchants. The technology is the first and only online signature pad designed and engineered exclusively for eCommerce merchants to capture a "wet" signature during the online checkout process. The merchant and the consumer are presented the entire transaction record including the agreed upon terms and conditions, cancellation / refund policy and the purchaser's wet signature.

In the world of online commerce, e-tailers are forced to manage not only the destructive effects of criminal fraud, but more increasingly friendly fraud. Last year, 20% of the $139 billion dollars of fraud was directly attributed to friendly fraud.

"Friendly fraud" occurs when a consumer purchases an item, receives it, and without valid reason refuses acceptance of the charge for the transaction by initiating a chargeback with their bank/card issuer. Friendly fraud is basically online shoplifting. When a chargeback is initiated, under current consumer protection regulations, the burden of proof is placed on the merchant to produce irrefutable legal evidence of proof of purchase. More often than not, the final decision favors the friendly fraudster.

"The chargeback ratios are the new FICO scores for online merchants. If a merchant's chargeback ratio is too high he/she can lose the ability to accept credit cards," states Greg Wooten, CEO, USDT.

SignatureLink CNPS technology is the missing link for the card-not-present (CNP) eCommerce industry to validate and certify every purchase transaction as a legally binding agreement. The virtual signature pad, once deployed, will grant all online payment transactions equal access to the same legal protection and defense afforded to card-present transactions with a signature. The patent-pending process in which SignatureLink records an electronic signature is HIPPA compliant and attorney tested to be 100% legal and compliant with both U.S. Federal UETA of 1999 and ESIGN Act of 2000.

Utilizing human factors engineering, USDT and SignatureLink designed the online signature pad to mirror the look and feel of a typical card-present signature pad consumers are already familiar with, eliminating confusion and creating easy adoption. The purchaser simply signs the signature pad with a stylus or mouse during the checkout process. Once executed, the signature, transaction details and terms and conditions are captured and the detailed record is then archived in SignatureLink's PCI & HIPPA compliant data vault. SignatureLink's cloud-based on-demand application is served in dual redundant and geographically disbursed data centers.

The online signature pad is easily incorporated within the merchant's existing eCommerce engine, shopping cart or payment gateway and allows the inclusion of a customized promise-to-pay purchase agreement into their current checkout process. In the event the merchant receives a retrieval request from his/her payment processor, the forensic record is retrievable within seconds from the SignatureLink data vault. The merchant is able to present the entire transaction record including the agreed upon terms and conditions and the consumer's wet signature. To demonstrate the power of the CNPS, a real-time demo has been made available on the USDT website.

"SignatureLink CNPS builds consumer trust and loyalty and is a value-add for consumers as well. With millions of online transactions occurring each day across the globe merchants and consumers alike are at risk of payment fraud and identity theft. Legitimate shoppers feel that payment security is instilled and trust factors reinforced when they experience the signature pad. 100% of consumer feedback received has been in favor of the new technology. Consumers are protected because a merchant cannot simply change the return and cancellation policy after the fact. The actual agreed upon terms and conditions at the time of purchase along with their signature are incorporated within the receipt. Beta testing with merchants has shown zero abandonment and may have increased sales," states Greg Wooten, CEO, USDT.

US Digital Transactions Corporation is a recognized leader in cutting-edge payment processing technologies, disaster recovery and asset protection solutions. Merchants, payment providers, acquirers and financial institutions deploy USDT's services to streamline operations and reduce expenses. USDT is committed to providing a secure environment for financial transactions and educating the global business community on best practices to reduce fraud and the overall cost of payment processing worldwide.

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SOURCE US Digital Transactions Corporation