Oki, NTT, and Microsoft to establish Payment First
[April 19th 2000] Oki Electric, NTT Data, NTT
Communications, NTT DoCoMo, and Microsoft have announced that in
June they will jointly establish Payment First Corporation, a company that will
provide a simple, convenient, and low-cost Internet payment infrastructure. This
new company will provide the world's first payment-services system capable of
both debit and credit transactions based on a secure electronic transaction
(SET) protocol. This service guarantees end users with secure and convenient
transaction settlements via the Internet from PCs, home-use computer-game
machines and NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile phones.
Payment First will provide end users with wallet services that
will enable easy-to-use SET-based payments. This will be achieved by carrying
out the necessary SET services on behalf of credit card companies, financial
institutions, and other similar companies, and by using ServerWallet (TM), which
centrally manages end-user's digital wallets at servers. ServerWallet is
GlobeSet, Inc.'s centralized user-wallet management system, which eliminates the
need for users to install wallets into their PCs. It meets the security
requirements of Visa International and MasterCard International regarding
account numbers and credit-card numbers. With Payment First's wallet service,
end users can make SET-based payments via PCs, i-mode mobile phones, and
computer-game machines - without having to install wallet software. This means
that only a Web browser is necessary. Also, end users can choose from among
multiple credit card companies, financial institutions, and other similar
companies when making their SET-based payments. At the same time, those
companies can reduce by one-half the service costs normally incurred for
SET-based payments.
"Everyone knows that SET is a highly secure system. However, to use it,
settlement companies must expend much time and money to distribute the necessary
wallet software to end users. Also, end users must install wallets into their
PCs," says Mr. Yutaka Maeda, Corporate Senior Vice President & Director
President, System Solutions Company of Oki. "To meet the needs for
establishing a low-cost and user-friendly payment service, Oki, NTT Data, NTT
Communications, NTT DoCoMo, and Microsoft jointly will establish the new
company, which will provide end users with wallet service on behalf of
settlement companies."
In addition to the wallet service, Payment First will also offer its ServerPOS
(TM) outsourcing service to operators of online malls. ServerPOS (TM) is
GlobeSet, Inc.'s system, which centrally controls online shops' POSs (points of
sales) at servers, and it enables the operators of online malls to provide
multiple online shops with the SET-based payment system. This eliminates the
need for operators of online malls to have their own POS system and reduces
their costs relating to SET-based payments.
Payment First's SET-based payment system, which will be utilized by credit
companies, financial institutions, and other similar companies, will be based on
the global standard protocol SET Version 1.0. This will allow the aforementioned
companies to use the existing payment gateways. Also, companies that are going
to start a SET-based payment system will be able to establish the system's
channel at low-cost without establishing a new payment gateway, by using NTT
Data's CAFIS Internet Shopping Service. The new company will provide the wallet
service to end users on behalf of settlement companies beginning in October. At
present, Fuji Bank, JCB, DC Dard and Credit Saison, are already planning to use
this wallet service. Also, Dai Nippon Printing and other companies are
considering outsourcing their respective ServerPOS services to Payment First.
The new company expects that its wallet service will have more than 1 million
users by 2003. Mr. Noboru Hirata, the Senior Executive Manager, Financial
Systems Sales and Marketing Division of NTT Data says, "The new company
also will develop various services relating to online payments and continue to
provide value-added services to settlement companies, operators of virtual
malls, owners of virtual shops, and end users."
www.nttdocomo.com
