Electronic Payment Exchange Launches Revolutionary Cardholder Data Security Solution, BuyerWall™

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Payment Exchange (EPX), an industry-leading provider of payment processing solutions, today introduced BuyerWall™, the first and only cardholder data protection system that allows merchants to eliminate data breach liability yet still control the entire customer experience.

“BuyerWall was developed in response to years of hearing three major data security concerns from merchants: regulation, risk and reputation”

BuyerWall puts a wall between cardholder data and the merchant. This patent-pending solution is based on the principal that if a merchant never has the credit card numbers, it is in no danger of exposing the data if it is compromised. BuyerWall processes, transmits and stores cardholder data ensuring it never enters the merchant’s system.

“BuyerWall was developed in response to years of hearing three major data security concerns from merchants: regulation, risk and reputation,” said Raymond Moyer, president and CEO of EPX. “They are concerned about complying with regulations like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). They are concerned about the risk of a data breach and the subsequent cascade of expenses and lost revenue. And they are concerned about seeing their company’s name dragged through the headlines with negative publicity. BuyerWall addresses all of these concerns.”

In a traditional credit card transaction, the customer’s sensitive credit card data is exposed in transmission and processing numerous times. That same data is also replicated and stored in multiple locations throughout the payment process. These points of passage and storage create multiple opportunities for thieves to strike.

BuyerWall is different thanks to EPX’s straight-through payment processing capability, eliminating many of the hand-offs and redundant storage points of the typical credit card transaction. BuyerWall provides and hosts the necessary front end applications that remove the merchant from the processing and transmission of any sensitive card holder data.

BuyerWall alleviates a merchant’s need to store cardholder data, as it issues a BuyerWall Recognized Identification Code (BRIC) to the merchant in place of the data. By itself, the BRIC holds no value; however, it allows the merchant to realize all of the capabilities that previously required the storage of cardholder data without ever having to touch the data. This includes refunds, recurring or return transactions, and historical review.

BuyerWall does not affect the merchant’s customer experience. Online, over the phone, or in-store, using American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard or Visa, the buyer simply purchases items as they always have.

BuyerWall is being introduced at a time when merchants are increasingly wary of storing cardholder data. According to a statement issued by the National Retail Federation in early October:

“All of us -- merchants, banks, credit card companies and our customers -- want to eliminate credit card fraud,” said NRF Chief Information Officer David Hogan in the letter. “But if the goal is to make credit card data less vulnerable, the ultimate solution is to stop requiring merchants to store card data in the first place.”

About Electronic Payment Exchange

Founded in 1979, Electronic Payment Exchange (EPX) is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware with additional offices in Phoenix, Arizona. An industry-leading provider of fully integrated payments solutions, EPX offers a full range of services, including BuyerWall, the first and only cardholder data protection system that allows merchants to eliminate data breach liability yet still control the customer experience. EPX is a Participating Organization of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. For more information on the company and its offerings, visit www.epx.com. For news, information, trends and expert insight on cardholder data security, visit www.DontBeTheNextHeadline.com.