Member News

C3 develop bespoke PCI compliant card processing system for TeleBilling

12 October 2009

TeleBilling, a provider of many different interactive entertainment services, has been operating voice and web based card clearing on its C3 built platform for many years. As a result of both diminishing trust in traditional premium service and increased regulatory requirements by card issuers they have recently seen increased demand for card clearing services

The existing C3 card processing platform is only able to handle transactions through TeleBilling’s own merchant accounts, forcing a re-seller agreement with its clients. To grow the business, TeleBilling needed to be able to handle transactions direct into client’s merchant accounts whilst maintaining PCI compliance and C3 has made some changes to the platform to help them achieve this.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ( PCI DSS ) has been adopted by all major card issuers to ensure that card details are held securely to the satisfaction of the issuer. As PCI DSS is phased in, banks and credit card companies are increasing the levee on non-compliant systems to force merchants to move to compliant platforms.

C3’s bespoke solution stores all information relevant to the transaction, including card number, address validation ( AVS ) and 3-digit security code ( CV2 ) then forwards the request to the client’s bank’s clearing house for authorisation. Once funds have been secured the system generates a unique reference code that is stored on the approved database. The entire process, including system build, documentation, server location, security and the vetting of personnel who have access to the platform meets and maintains the stringent PCI compliance requirements.

TeleBilling's existing card platform meets card industry requirements but has limitations as Alex Robson, CEO of TeleBilling explains 'Our existing system works fine and is compliant. Because it was built for our own use, it was only integrated to our merchant accounts. As we have seen considerable growth in card clearing on the web, voice and WAP, we need to add client merchant facilities to the platform whilst maintaining the ever changing PCI compliance. The C3 additions will change our business model as collected funds will go direct into the clients’ merchant account - we will then charge a fee to use our compliant platform. All the additional security checks we run to minimise charge backs and protect accounts will also be extended to the clients.’

‘Being able to pay for goods or services by credit card offers customers a very positive experience compared to some of the existing mobile billing mechanisms’ continues Robson “Credit and debit card billing is well understood and the card companies spend millions ensuring consumer confidence. In the event of a dispute, consumers can easily query charges and receive refunds. The refund processes for other billing mechanisms are not so straight forward.’

TeleBilling’s bespoke card billing platform is hosted at C3’s secure co-location premises in Cambridge.