Minister's Forerword
Introduction
Credits
Acknowledgements
Comit Gruppe and Macalla Software
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
DEVELOP E*LASER, AN ELECTRONIC DEBIT CARD PAYMENT SYSTEM
COMIT is a leading European provider of e-commerce and financial markets consultancy and systems development services. COMIT’s focus is exclusively on financial transactions and the company possesses a deep applied knowledge of the practicalities and business issues arising from such deployments.
Macalla is a provider of Open Standards enabled middleware products and solutions for the global financial services sector. The company’s core expertise is in the design, development and delivery of solutions that focus on dynamic information sourcing, value-added transformation and dissemination as an integral part of execution-enabled Enterprise wide applications. Macalla uses CORBA for applications integration, XML for data representation and Internet technologies for delivery and presentation.
Business Case for eCommerce Infrastructure Project
SMEs, financial institutions and consumers are seeking secure and risk-free electronic payment methods to allow them participate securely in eCommerce. Existing options include:
On-line banking sites:
These allow users to make payments to declared debtors such as utilities and credit card companies. The facility is used for making monthly payments, is very secure and low-cost. However, each consumer must register each merchant that they wish to pay in this way in advance of making a purchase, thereby limiting the flexibility of the system and customer choice.
Credit card payment:
Many SMEs, consumers and financial institutions believe that this payment method is limited in its application, both by the cost structure and the inherent risk of fraud. Further, not all consumers hold credit cards, particularly in Europe, where the penetration of this payment method remains low.
e-Business Solution
COMIT Gruppe and Macalla Software developed E*Laser, an Internet based payment infrastructure that removes the requirement for credit cards and replaces them with an electronic form of the debit card. E*Laser works as follows:
1. Consumer decides makes a purchase on the merchant’s site, selects the icon corresponding to the bank from which they want to pay for the purchase.
2. Purchase details are sent to the relevant bank. This information is formatted and transferred using the E*Laser software embedded into the merchant’s web site. A second browser is automatically opened on the consumer’s screen and is directed to the relevant bank web site.
3. The consumer logs on as normal to their bank web site using the security and password infrastructure dictated and provided by the bank.
4. Credit transfer acceptance: The bank’s website, using data retrieved from the E*Laser software automatically builds a page that shows the consumer the amount to be debited, states from which account, the merchant to be credited and requests final acceptance for the transaction from the consumer.
5. Payment processing: Once the consumer has accepted the transaction, the bank’s internal systems debit the consumer account and credit the merchant account with the correct amount. If there is a problem, e.g. due to lack of available funds or technical issues, the consumer is informed that the transaction cannot be completed at this point.
6. The bank’s web server will use the E*laser software to produce a highly secure, encrypted message to the merchant’s web server detailing the transaction and announcing that the payment has been made.
7. The merchant’s web server, using the E*laser software, will receive the transaction confirmation from the bank, decrypt it and store it in a secure location for later use.
E*Laser advantages include:
Reduced Payment Fraud
Since funds are transferred between the customer’s and the merchant’s accounts, there is no financial risk of non-payment. The consumer interacts directly with their bank and is not required to divulge any financial information to the merchant. The bank retains full control of the funds transfer process and uses its standards account management security requirements to prevent fraud.
Cost reduction and market efficiencies
As E*laser is used in conjunction with banks’ existing payment infrastructure, the cost per transaction is very low and thus provides an added incentive for merchants and consumers to use electronic commerce as a channel or purchasing goods and services.
Who will benefit from this e-Commerce Infrastructure Development?
Banks and other financial institutions
SME merchants
Customers
Comit Gruppe
12 Windsor Place
Dublin 2
Tel: 01662 4233
richard.pyke@comit.ie
Macalla Software
19 Raglan Road
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4
Tel: 01 260 8113
bryan.maybury@macalla.com