Kurant and SurePay Offer Fast, Easy Access to Electronic Commerce
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 4, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kurant Corporation, a leading
provider of electronic commerce software and services, today announced an
agreement with SurePay, LP to deliver a suite of merchant processing services to
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), giving them the ability to offer merchants
near-instant access to the world of electronic commerce.
SurePay, an eONE Global company founded by First Data Corp. and Entrust
Technologies Inc., provides complete end-to-end payment, trust and security
products and services for Internet B2B and B2C markets globally.
This agreement will enable merchants to quickly and securely establish a
merchant account, and via the SurePay(R) payment gateway, accept credit card
payments online.
Before merchants can begin selling online, they must select an Internet gateway
service and apply for a merchant account, a process that can take several weeks
and requires manual administration for the merchant, the merchant's bank and the
ISP hosting the merchant's online store. Under the terms of this agreement,
Kurant's ISPs will offer their merchants access to a fully integrated suite of
Internet merchant-processing services, including First Data's patented online
credit decisioning tool, VirtualApp, and the SurePay payment platform. More than
125 ISPs currently are hosting Kurant's StoreSense store-building application.
VirtualApp is the industry's first paperless, click-through process that enables
online merchants to securely establish a merchant account and receive a credit
decision within minutes in order to begin accepting payments. The SurePay
payment solution enables merchants to process online payments including credit
card transactions, check payments via First Data's TeleCheck(R) subsidiary, and
cash payments through First Data's Western Union(R) retail agent locations.
"This SurePay agreement provides yet another way for ISPs to benefit from a
relationship with Kurant," said Curtis Pierce, chief executive officer at
Kurant. "When they choose StoreSense, ISPs get a solution with a clear and
compelling merchant upgrade path, ensuring an increasing revenue stream. Now,
with our new offering, we've also greatly reduced the administrative burden of
setting up Internet gateway and merchant account services, meaning it's just
that much easier for ISPs to secure new business."
By integrating VirtualApp and the SurePay payment solution with StoreSense,
Kurant makes it available to ISPs of all sizes and helps to level the playing
field in the ISP marketplace.
"In today's competitive marketplace, where ISPs are struggling for market share,
secure payment solutions and near-instant merchant account provisioning become a
critical advantage," said Dominic Morea, vice president of Merchant Commerce
Services at SurePay. "Our agreement with Kurant helps deliver an easy, complete
solution to remove the barriers for ISPs to provide electronic commerce
solutions and facilitate their entry into a key market space."
Initially NTB Merchant Services, an alliance between First Data and The Northern
Trust Company, will provide acquiring services to merchants participating in
this suite of e-commerce services. Other acquirers may be added in the future.
Kurant's commerce solutions remove the complex barriers of entry into the
electronic commerce arena. StoreSense offers merchants all the features they
require to establish a sophisticated online presence, from entry-level
store-creation functionality and secure transaction processing to such high-end
capabilities as supply chain management and online sales lead tracking, in a
remarkably easy-to-use format. Kurant's turnkey solution, StoreSense ISP
Advantage, features StoreSense pre-installed and delivered on a Cobalt RaQ
server appliance.
About SurePay
SurePay, LP provides complete, end-to-end payment, trust and security products
and services for Internet B2B and B2C markets on a global scale. Leveraging the
leadership positions of its founders, First Data (NYSE: FDC) and Entrust
Technologies (NASDAQ: ENTU), SurePay develops and delivers trusted, secure
payment solutions for businesses buying and selling on the Internet. Building
upon its established payment solutions for merchant commerce, SurePay is
aggressively developing and implementing offerings in the business-to-business
and mobile commerce arenas. SurePay is a central operating company within the
eONE Global network of payment companies and technologies. For more information
see www.surepay.com.
About eONE Global
As the leading source for accelerating payment innovation, eONE Global LP
identifies, develops, and operates emerging payment systems and related Internet
and wireless technologies spanning the business-to-business (B2B),
business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-government (B2G) and person-to-person
(P2P) markets. eONE Global was founded by First Data Corp., the global leader in
electronic commerce and payment services, and iFormation Group, which partners
with Global 2000 market leaders to form, develop and accelerate new online
businesses. Based in Northern California, eONE Global has additional offices in
Menlo Park, Calif.; Melville and New York City, N.Y.; Denver; Omaha, Neb.;
London; and Hong Kong. For more information, visit www.eoneglobal.com.
About Kurant
Kurant Corporation (www.kurant.com) specializes in software solutions that allow
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), portals and other Web hosting companies to
build and host electronic commerce services. Kurant's flagship product,
StoreSense, has garnered numerous industry awards, including Yahoo! Internet
Life magazine's Gold Star Site distinction for "Best Fee-Based Services,"
Computer Reseller News' Editor's Choice for "Best Storefront E-Commerce
Software" in 2000, PC/Computing Magazine's prestigious MVP Award for "Best
Commerce Service of 1999" and "Best of Show" in the E-Commerce category at
Internet World Spring '99. Founded in 1996, San Francisco-based Kurant is
privately held and has received investments from Deep River Ventures, Cobalt
Networks, Garage.com, Group One and TransAtlantic Partners.
Note to Editors: Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders. All prices noted are in U.S.
dollars and are valid only in the United States.
CONTACT: Kurant Corporation
Omar Garcia, 415/241-9150 ext. 117
ogarcia@kurant.com
or
SurePay
Terry Gordon, 631/761-7941
terry.gordon@surepay.com
or
Walt & Company
Kelley Fodor, Diana Lee, 408/496-0900 x2981/1065
kfodor@walt.com, dlee@walt.com
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KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: E-COMMERCE
INTERNET
SOFTWARE
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