Pune, 8th Dec 2010: ElectraCard Services (ECS), a leading provider of software solutions and operations support for electronic payment systems, is handling end to end processing of MasterCard's payment solution for 'Aadhaar' with its product electraSWITCH™. The proof-of-concept demonstration of the system was held in Delhi today.
electraSWITCH is a new generation EMV compliant EFT authorization and routing switching solution that seamlessly bridges real world and virtual payment channels. It provides financial institutions with an open platform based, high availability solution to deliver services through ATMs, Kiosks, Bunch Note Acceptors, Cash Deposit Machines, POS, Internet, Telephone, and Mobiles.
As part of its product innovation strategy, ECS has enhanced its electra platform to process 'Aadhaar's' biometric enabled transactions thus providing a secure and convenient payment mechanism for 'Aadhaar' holders.
The payment solution will enable 'Aadhaar' holders to perform payment transactions using their 'Aadhaar' number, hence empowering them to shift from cash to electronic transactions. 'Aadhaar', a 12-digit Unique Identification Number, will capture basic demographic and biometric information of Indian residents and make it possible for them to establish their identity with financial institutions. This will provide them a gateway into the formal banking system.
As part of the proposed solution, partner banks can issue a 16 digit Primary Account Number (PAN) to individuals enrolled into 'Aadhaar'. MasterCard has developed a direct interface with UIDAI to perform UID biometric authentication of payment transactions. With this solution, payment transactions will be performed using the UIDAI authentication infrastructure and MasterCard's authorization, clearing and settlement infrastructure. The solution supports prepaid, debit and credit payment products in a broad based offering to drive UIDAI's objective of Financial Inclusion.
Mr. Ramesh Mengawade, CEO, ElectraCard Services said, "In the last few years, the payments market has witnessed exponential growth. With 'Aadhaar' as a catalyst, this space is expected to grow manifold in near future. ECS' electraSWITCH has established itself as a product with a proven ability to cater to very high volumes. We are confident that we will be able to deliver seamless processing for the 'Aadhar' project and related initiatives."
Mr. T.V. Seshadri, General Manager, South Asia, MasterCard Worldwide said "MasterCard is proud to collaborate with the UIDAI in enabling financial inclusion for a significant portion of the Indian population by facilitating payments. MasterCard has been at the forefront of driving secure payment transactions in India and strongly believes the Aadhaar initiative will have a radical and transformative impact on the payments industry in India. It is indeed a decisive step for MasterCard towards achieving our national goal of displacing cash with electronic payments and opening up immense payment possibilities in India. MasterCard is confident that this state-of-the-art solution also brings safety, security, speed and efficiency in the evolving payment industry".
-Ends-About ElectraCard Services
ElectraCard Services, a subsidiary of Opus Software Solutions, provides business critical applications and third party processing services for credit and payments management industry across the world. ECS is a PCI DSS certified Third Party Processor (TPP) for MasterCard® and VISA® across the issuing and acquiring spectrum of the electronic payments business. MasterCard Worldwide also has a strategic investment of 12.5% in ElectraCard Services.
In India, ECS is the largest Third Party Processor for cards and the market leader in Internet payment gateway solutions. Its deep domain knowledge, extensive global experience and cost effective solutions address the speed to market and flexibility challenges of today's market. ECS has also been rated as 'POSITIVE' in the Gartner research report, 'MarketScope for Multiregional Card Management Software'.
ElectraCard Services enables financial institutions, retailers, finance companies and corporations to electronically process, in real-time, any type of payment transaction, including credit, debit, pre-paid, smart cards, and ACH. In addition to typical back office processing, ECS also offers ecommerce gateway and switching solutions. Its solutions support multiple institutions, multiple currencies, and varying processing requirements on a single platform. By providing comprehensive and flexible solutions that can be deployed to a market of one, ElectraCard Services offers unmatched services and solutions.www.electracard.com , www.opussoft.com
®MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International, Incorporated.®VISA is a registered trademark of VISA International Service Association.
electraSWITCH is a copyright and trademark of ElectraCard Services.
About MasterCard Worldwide
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2009, $2.5 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network - the fastest payment processing network in the world - MasterCard processes over 22 billion transactions each year, has the capacity to handle 140 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 140 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl™. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.
Manju Nandwani
ElectraCard Services/ Opus Software
M: +91 93 256 86 403
manju.nandwani@electracard.com
Shyamli Biswas/ Priyanka K
Sampark PR
M: +91 9860710142/ 9970190770
shyamli.biswas@sampark.com/
priyanka.kanawat@sampark.com
© Press Release 2010
