Striata announces strategic alliance with Princeton eCom

Striata's North American arm recently announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Princeton eCom, the leading American single source provider of integrated electronic payment and bill presentment solutions. In terms of the agreement, Princeton eCom will be the preferred processor for payments made through the Striata eBilling Suite in the region.

"Striata has established itself as a leader of innovation in the electronic billing industry through its original and proven technology that provides the efficiency clients are seeking and the convenience their customers expect," said Garin Toren, COO of Striata North America. "Princeton eCom's success in developing the most accurate and effective payment processing solution available aligns well with our objectives and will help us make a powerful solution even better."

In the American e-billing environment, e-mails have traditionally been used to provide text alerts to customers as well as offer an embedded link that would redirect the recipient to a Web site where an online payment could be made.

Striata's solution eliminates many steps previously needed to pay a bill online and greatly reduces the time required to complete the transaction by enabling a 'two-click' process for presentment and payment to be made direct from the e-mail bill without the need for the user to register or login at a Web site.

Through the use of Princeton eCom's CollectPay Connect, Striata will securely post customers' payment transaction data (credit/debit cards or ACH) to Princeton eCom's encrypted application program interface, which will process the payment in real-time and deliver a confirmation message. Based on a leading technology, Princeton eCom's solution will ensure faster remittances and less claims for Striata and its customers.

"Princeton eCom is the fastest growing provider of electronic bill presentment and payment solutions because of the accuracy, reliability and effectiveness we deliver," said Ron Averett, President and CEO of Princeton eCom. "The partnership with Striata is a testament to our success and demonstrates the value we can offer for other solutions providers as well."

In addition to serving banks and financial institutions, Princeton e Com also provides solutions for the healthcare, insurance and utility industries, among others, and currently processes more than $2 billion in payments each month.

Princeton eCom recently announced 195 new implementations which included a sharp increase in billers as well as additional top 100 financial institutions. The company has also experienced a substantial growth in the volume of payments it processes - setting the stage for the company to achieve considerable growth in 2005.

Says Michael Wright, CEO of Striata: "Through our partnership, we will expand and enhance payment channel options for clients to offer US-based customers, as well as increase the adoption of this new technology through the joint development of additional clients."