News

SHAZAM launches Pentagon mobile payment application

January 26, 2012

The SHAZAM network has launched the Adaptive Payments Pentagon mobile POS payments application, the company announced yesterday in a press release at MarketWatch.

Pentagon allows merchants to accept PIN debit, signature debit and credit transactions using iPhone and Android mobile phone and tablet devices. SHAZAM will roll out Pentagon to the nearly 1,500 community financial institutions they serve and their merchant customer base. As an incentive for use, merchants will get a 1-percent discount on Pentagon PIN debit transactions.

Pentagon uses Adaptive Payments 5DSecure five-factor, dual-channel authentication technology to authenticate PIN debit transactions. The application uses the consumer's phone for PIN capture, relying on Adaptive Payments outside-of-band authentication technology. The PIN is captured in a second channel and is never stored virtually with the cardholder's card data or personal information.

In addition to accepting PIN debit, Pentagon uses 3DES to encrypt the magnetic stripe right at the read head. The transaction produces a Regulation E-compliant receipt that is delivered to the consumer via SMS text message. Pentagon also captures and stores an image of the signed receipt.

"Payments are rapidly evolving from traditional card-present and card-not-present situations to more mobile and online environments," said Mike Hollinger, SHAZAM president and CEO. "Consumers expect to be able to shop any time and at any place. There is also an expectation to be able to shop safely and securely without fear of fraud or identity theft. Not only does Pentagon make payments more accessible to more consumers and merchants, but it does so without compromising on end-to-end security."

"Unlike other mobile payment providers that disintermediate existing relationships, Pentagon is an open platform specifically designed to be accessible to all financial institutions and merchant acquirers, allowing them to use the product without changing processors and to customize it to make Pentagon their own," said Adaptive Payments CEO Shashi Kapur.