SYSTEM MAKES WEB PURCHASES SAFE AND FAST
By Adnews Staff
A small Oakville, Ont.-based company is trying to take the scare out of buying items via the World Wide Web. Switchtech Corp. has developed an encryption system merchants and customers can use for on-line transactions. The company says it is the first system that encrypts and verifies transactions in seconds while the user is on-line. If an Internet merchant is hooked up to Switchtech a customer will be sent a secure form to fill out with a credit-card number. The encrypted information is sent back to Switchtech for verification. Shoppers receive an electronic receipt for each purchase. The cost of the service will initially be borne by merchants. At the moment Switchtech is taking only Visa credit cards, cleared through the Bank of Nova Scotia. Visa International and Mastercard are working to develop a secure system for shopping on the Internet, but their system won't be operating for about a year.