JSE-listed retail Group, Edcon, has become the latest of several Prism Holdings` clients to gear up for the introduction of Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) smartcard payments next year.
According to Andrew Turpin, director Prism PayPoint Business Unit, the Edcon project conducted over a period of 8 months involved the upgrade and integration of no fewer than 8 000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals and over 11 000 PINpads at Edgars, CNA, Jet and Legit stores around the country.
EMV, the global standard for the design, security, and functionality of smart card terminals and applications, was developed by the major card associations in an effort to reduce fraud. Visa and MasterCard have mandated that all new generation payment cards issued by their member banks must be EMV compliant. This means EMV compliant POS terminals have to be installed at retail outlets around the globe so that they can safely accept any EMV-type smart card from any EMV card issuer.
"While several of our clients have implemented VeriFone SC5000 PINpads for which Prism obtained EMV Type 2 approval on its application kernel in 2003, Edcon is one of the first major consumer-focused companies in South Africa to have all the elements in place for a rollout of an end-to-end EMV certified payment environment: from the customer-facing transaction terminals through Mosaic`s store server to the back-end switch.
"The switch is operated by Prism TranSwitch Services (PTSS), the transaction-switching arm of Prism Holdings, and enables the transfer of electronic payments from Edcon paypoints to Edcon`s acquiring bank, FNB," he explains and adds that this solution is the first Visa and MasterCard EMV certification for FNB.
"Edcon now has the systems to accept all bank cards. In addition to supporting global smartcard solutions based on EMV specifications, the SC5000 PINpads can accept existing magnetic stripe debit and credit cards. This means Edcon clients who do not yet have bank-issued EMV smart cards, will be able to continue using their existing payment cards."
The Edcon EMV project, undertaken jointly by JSE-listed trusted transactions company Prism Holdings, consulting group Accenture, Edcon`s in-house IT department, Mosaic Software and FNB`s technical and business teams, means consumers will be able to purchase goods at any of the Edcon group stores and pay with any bank-issued smartcard as soon as these become available. The solution will be operational in selected stores this year with a full rollout scheduled for early next year.
Clinton Nason, Project Manager at Accenture, says the long-standing relationship between Accenture and Prism involving work done for Edcon over the years played a major role in ensuring the implementation went off as smoothly as it did.
"Despite the fact that this project was a first in terms of magnitude and technological requirements, we were able to manage the risks and difficulties - and still bring the project in ahead of schedule," he concludes.
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The Edcon Group is a specialty retailer operating over 700 stores throughout South Africa, Namibia and adjacent territories each targeting a focused market segment. Today, the Group comprises the Edgars, CNA, Boardmans, Prato, Jet, Legit and Super Mart/Jet Mart chains.
Prism
JSE-listed Prism Holdings Limited is a leader in the field of secure electronic transaction products, solutions and services. The Group has a strong presence in South Africa and an established and expanding footprint across Africa and South-East Asia. Prism has a proven track record in the delivery of secure electronic payment technologies and end-to-end solutions for the retail, utilities, banking, cellular and petroleum industries. The Group has developed and implemented innovative payment-centric Intellectual Property that bridges the following technologies:
* Chip cards including SIM cards, financial smart cards and telephone cards
* Point-of-Sale frameworks, applications and devices
* OEM transaction modules including PINpads, card readers and self-service terminals
* Transaction security modules and servers
* Payment servers, messaging gateways and value-added-services gateways
* End-to-end secure electronic payment architectures for wired and wireless networks
PTSS
Prism TranSwitch Services (PTSS) is the transaction-switching arm within the Prism Group. PTSS enables the switching of card payments and other value-add processing services to more than 600 stores in South Africa. These services include Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), vending of pre-paid cellular tokens, cheque authorisation, and soon the electronic issue and redemption of gift vouchers. PTSS adds value in its provision of settlement and transaction reconciliation for these services.
VeriFone, Inc
VeriFone, Inc., a global leader in secure electronic payment technologies, provides expertise, solutions and services for today with a migration strategy for tomorrow. VeriFone delivers solutions that add value to the point of sale, resulting in improved merchant retention and the generation of new sources of revenue for its partners and customers. VeriFone solutions are specifically designed to meet the needs of vertical markets including financial, retail, petroleum, government and healthcare. VeriFone has shipped over eleven million electronic payment systems since inception in 1981.
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