E-Billing Solutions: A Safer Path to Online Transactions Date:   Tuesday , November 03, 2009 Today with the reach of internet spreading to every corner of the globe, e-commerce has become an attractive option to traditional organizations to do business. Since mid 1990 traditional traders followed large computer manufacturers to step into the new sphere and today a person can buy practically anything on the internet, from a bunch of roses to a luxury car. The only exception seems to be a trip to Moon! However, security has been a serious concern for the e-commerce websites or merchants, given that they have emerged as a preferred target of cyber crooks. In such a scenario, companies like E-Billing Solutions (EBS) play a crucial role by providing solutions, which have become a necessity for the merchants. Apart from security, EBS also provides services, which act as a liaison between merchants and banks. EBS was incorporated in 2005 by Nishanth Chandran and Prabhuram, who came together to offer a comprehensive and easy solution for the e-commerce industry. The company’s foundation was supported by Kanu Bhai Shah, who funded the Mumbai-based company. “Looking at the growth of the credit card market, I realized that the future belongs to plastic money, hence I wanted to be in the business,” said Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of EBS. Shah’s son Rajiv, who is the Executive Director of EBS wanted to diversify their family business, so even he influenced his father to enter the e-commerce space. Shah who was a civil engineer met the co-founders when they were searching for space to set up their office in Mumbai. With the technical expertise of Chandran and Prabhuram, the former civil engineer got the right opportunity to enter the market through the online route. After a lot of research, the company developed its solution called TranSafe and unveiled it in June this year. It works as a pre- screening solution for screening transactions, which in turn helps merchants to successfully filter the frauds and allows them to complete transactions safely. The solution is based on the SAAS (Software as a Service) model, which works with any payment gateway independently with a simple integration process. TranSafe is developed to help merchants effectively stop online frauds. It allows merchants to address risk throughout the transaction lifecycle and stop fraud at the earliest possible stage to overcome the hazard of chargeback in the online space. To meet the demand of an effective fraud management solution in the online space, EBS offers TranSafe as an independent service part of its Risk Management System. In its pursuit to enable safe online transactions, EBS is today associated with multiple acquiring banks for providing payment gateway services to offer transactions with Master, Visa, Diners and Cash Card brands on a single platform. The company claims that it is the first Indian merchant account provider to achieve the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) 1.1 Standard of Compliance, which is set by the PCI Security Standards Council. The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum for the ongoing development, enhancement, storage, dissemination and implementation of security standards for account data protection. EBS believes by achieving the compliance, it has emerged as one of the most secured online service providers. According to Shah, only California-based CyberSource offers the similar kind of secure service for online transaction. “We perform over 600 checks for a single e-commerce transaction, which is more than what Cybersource does. And we also have a local presence in India, which is a crucial advantage over them especially when it comes to serving the Indian market,” says Shah. With its offices spread out in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai and with a network of associates span across the country, EBS intends to provide personal attention, service and consultation for the Indian merchants. Apart from helping in online transactions by verifying the credit card details received from various banks, EBS also verifies telephone numbers to provide secure transactions. “We have tie-ups with telecom operators around the globe, who help us get the details of a person using online transaction,” says Shah. As more people are expected to enter the online market with access to easy and cheap internet services and with fast paced penetration of credit card, India is poised to be one of the major markets in the e-commerce era. EBS intends to seize this opportunity by offering its services in the Indian market. According to Shah, currently EBS serves over 700 merchants in India, with 50 being added to the list every month. “We expect to have more than 10,000 merchants in another five years with 100 merchants expected to be added every month from next year,” says Shah. The company also has its own payment processing engine, which accepts MasterCard, Visa and Diners Card along with net banking of Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. It also accepts payments through Itz Cash Card and Oxi Cash. In the future, EBS plans to have many more net banking and other payment options. A typical online transaction using the EBS engine starts with the customer placing an order on a website. Once the customer selects the payment option through credit card, the transaction gets redirected through EBS Payment Gateway to the transaction processing bank. After the customer enters his credit card details on the secured payment page, the information is transmitted securely to the corresponding bank for approval. The corresponding bank sends the appropriate information to the transaction processing bank and the result is forwarded to EBS. Following this the customer receives a confirmation and is redirected to the website and the transaction is completed. In the net banking service, Shah says that banks are the main competitors of EBS, which includes even its associate banks. Shah believes that the company has a major advantage over the banks, because a bank can offer net banking services exclusively to only its customers, however EBS can offer its services to customers from any bank. “The banks also depend upon us for net banking services because we make use of TranSafe to complete the transaction, hence making it more secure,” says Shah. Apart from providing services to the merchants to help them in the online transactions, EBS also supports these merchants in their growth. “We have a merchant retention program in which we provide guidance to merchants to grow in their business,” says Shah. Started in July 2009, there are currently 7-8 merchants, who have signed up for the program. Currently with employee strength of 60 people and 100 associate partners, Shah believes that EBS has the necessary resources to grow in the future. With its eyes on new payment options like cash cards gaining more interest, Shah believes in the coming days EBS will spread its wings and reach out to more number of people who seek to complete online transactions in a secure and comfortable way. For more details please visit: http://www.ebs.in