Irish payment solutions company Orbiscom has signed an exclusive agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP) whereby the two companies will collaborate on new products and explore new directions for payment applications for Orbiscom’s Controlled Payments technology.
Under the terms of the agreement the two companies will engage in joint technical, marekting and sales initiatives to make controlled payments services available to their respective customers, including some of the world’s biggest banks and credit card companies.
The alliance is built on a history of successful implementations for controlled payments, including MBNA and Citibank.
Orbiscom’s technology enables banks and credit card companies to provide online shoppers and cardholders with disposable credit card numbers so that if a hacker illegally got hold of their transaction details, they can do nothing with them. This helps protect cardholders from unauthorised charges to their real account.
The Orbiscom platform supports a variety of innovative payment applications, including several targeted at payment security and online authentication, such as Visa’s Verified by Visa and MasterCard’s SecureCode service.
HP said it will offer its corporate clients a full range of applications based on Orbiscom’s Controlled Payment technology. Nigel Ball, vice-president of Enterprise Solution Partners at HP, said: “The process for choosing Orbiscom as an alliance partner was a very selective process. We wanted to work with someone who has demonstrated solid performance in delivering innovative products to major players in the payments industry. Orbiscom was a natural choice.
“Our alliance with Orbiscom significantly enhances HP’s strategy for cementing a solid foothold in the rapidly growing payment solutions market.”
Orbiscom’s executive vice-president of sales and marketing, Dian Shaib, said that the agreement extends Orbiscom’s visibility in the financial services technology arena and enhances its ability to demonstrate its technology in terms of profitability and direct impact on client profitability
Established in 1998, Orbiscom’s Controlled Payment technology is accessed by more than 190 million credit cardholders throughout the world, and client companies include MBNA, AIB, Carte Bleue, Swedbank, Credit Lyonaiss and Nippon Shinpan. AIB is understood to have a 15pc stake in the company.
In 2001, Orbiscom raised €19m in venture capital. The investment was lead by Goodbody Corporate Finance and included European investment house HgCapital.
By John Kennedy
