UATP Helps Acculynk Connect to Airlines

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) has partnered with Acculynk to enable the use of PIN debit cards for online purchases for the travel industry. Acculynk is the first company in the U.S. to offer a software-only service for online PIN debit payments that is integrated directly into the airline checkout and requires no consumer enrollment or redirection.

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"Our new partnership with Acculynk will benefit consumers and airlines alike: the consumer gets their payment option of choice and the airlines have an additional payment option enabled without any significant IT work," said Ralph Kaiser, president & CEO, UATP. "With Acculynk, UATP continues its mission to work with quality partners and provide airlines with new consumer demand and revenue while lowering the cost of sale; everyone wins."

"Our partnership with UATP allows their airline partners to implement our service quickly, with little effort and cost," said Tom Wilkerson, vice president of business development for Acculynk. "Our Internet PIN Debit service provides airlines significant value through lower fees, reduced charge-backs, and new revenue opportunities. Our service does not require any hardware plug-in and securely executes payment transactions in under 6 seconds."

When consumers arrive at the online airline checkout, they are given the option to pay for their purchase with PIN debit. Consumers enter their card number and associated information as they normally would, but the PIN is entered on Acculynk's graphical, scrambling PIN-pad. The PIN is encrypted, never passes through the airline checkout, and is processed securely, along with the card information, across existing payment channels.

PIN debit is a preferred consumer payment option at the brick and mortar point of sale because it is safe, convenient and easy to use. Acculynk brings the same convenience and security to the Internet, and allows consumers to leverage a debit card they already have and a PIN they already know, right at the airline checkout. Internet PIN Debit provides airlines reduced interchange fees and charge-backs, guaranteed funds with 1-2 day settlement, and new transactions from security-conscious consumers and those that cannot use their debit card without a PIN.

Acculynk is partnering with several EFT networks to process online PIN debit transactions and merchant acquirers to deploy the service. For more information, visit www.uatp.com or www.acculynk.com.

About UATP

UATP accounts are accepted as a form of payment for corporate business travel by airlines and travel agencies worldwide. UATP accounts are issued by: Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), Austrian Airlines, Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Japan Airlines (Nasdaq OTC: JALSY), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA), Qantas Airways, Ltd., United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA), and US Airways (NYSE: LCC). AirPlus International issues the UATP-based Company Account for: British Airways (NYSE: BAIRY.PK), Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), and Lufthansa German Airlines.

About Acculynk

Acculynk is a leading technology provider with a suite of software-only services that secure online transactions. Backed by a powerful encryption and authentication framework protected by a family of issued and pending patents, our services provide greater security, reliability, convenience and return on investment for consumers, merchants, networks, issuers and acquirers. Acculynk is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with a management team that brings extensive experience in the financial, network, security and payment processing industries. For more information, visit www.acculynk.com.

    Contacts:

    Wendy L. Ward                  Danielle Duclos
    UATP                           Acculynk
    202-626-4077                   678-894-7013
    wward@uatp.com                 dduclos@acculynk.com