TouchNet Commerce Management System has been certified to be in compliance with the Payment Application - Data Security Standard (PA-DSS).

The newest release of the company's flagship software, the TouchNet Commerce Management System, has been certified to meet the requirements of the Payment Application - Data Security Standard (PA-DSS). The TouchNet Commerce Management software provides electronic payments, refunds, and deposits, online bill presentment, student payment plans, cashiering, and secure eCommerce solutions for colleges and universities. The TouchNet software certification was announced at the TouchNet COMTEC 2008 Users Conference in November.

PA-DSS is an information security standard for credit card payment software. It adds a new layer of protection for highly sensitive consumer credit card data. It was originally a voluntary program called Payment Application Best Practices (PABP). Today, it is a requirement with a schedule of deadlines for a staged implementation.

TouchNet is the only campus Commerce Management System vendor to earn the PA-DSS certification.

"It is important for colleges and universities to understand the requirements of PA-DSS and prepare a compliance strategy," says John McElroy, Manager for TouchNet Merchant Services. "Most institutions use a variety of vendor software. They need to build an accurate inventory of campus payment applications - where they reside and which vendor supplies the software. If any college or university runs a software application that accepts credit card payments and is NOT certified for PA-DSS, the institution is potentially out of PCI compliance and may be liable for maximum penalties if any credit card data breach occurs."

Daniel Toughey, President, adds, "We expend maximum effort to help colleges and universities secure their campus commerce transactions. TouchNet not only delivers hosting services in a Level-1, PCI DSS-compliant DataCenter, but also provides payment software that is PA-DSS certified. Then, we further help institutions meet their data security requirements with our own TouchNet Ready Partner Program, a vendor certification program that facilitates the collection of all campus payments into one centrally managed, secure, PCI-certified payment system. It's just one more way we make it easier for campuses to meet their PCI obligations."

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