US industry body the National Automated
Clearing House Association (NACHA) has hailed its new internet
consumer purchase and bill payment service, Secure Vault Payments
(SVP), as a revolutionary advance in electronic payments.
Currently the subject of a pilot project, SVP
allows consumers to transact online via the automated clearing
house (ACH) system that serves 11,200 US financial
institutions.
“We believe that Secure Vault Payments is
positioned to become a turning point in the evolution of the
payment industry and a frontrunner in the alternative payment
market,” said Lee James, vice-chairman of Synovus, the first
banking group to process a SVP pilot project transaction.
“Secure Vault Payments shows that the financial
services industry can develop the next-generation of payment
solutions on the structure of existing bank platforms,” he
added.
In essence, SVP enables consumers to initiate
payments for purchases and bill payments through their financial
institutions’ online banking platform using the automated clearing
house network.
The NACHA stressed that SVP is the only payment
option that operates on existing financial institution platforms,
offers consumers an online payment choice without sharing any
personal account information and provides businesses with real-time
payment authorisation and confirmation of payment.
“Nearly half of all consumers have concerns
about data theft, and many people avoid online shopping and bill
payment for this reason,” said NACHA president and CEO Elliott C
McEntee.
“Secure Vault Payments alleviates these
concerns, allowing more consumers to become comfortable with
ecommerce, creating the potential for new transactions, and
generating new revenue at financial institutions.”
Transaction switching infrastructure for SVP
was supplied by Australian online payments service provider, eWise
Systems. NACHA anticipates that the pilot project will run for 12
to 18 months.