Chain Reaction eCommerce Launches CRE Secure

CRE Secure the World’s 1st Branded, PCI-Compliant Online Payment System

ATLANTA - June 1, 2009 - Chain Reaction eCommerce, a provider of innovative products for small- and medium-sized online retailers, has launched CRE Secure, the first downloadable payment system that is fully compliant with new credit card security rules.

These rules, called Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards, were enacted by the world's major credit card companies in response to the growing number of expensive data breaches. Starting Oct. 1, online retailers will no longer be allowed to host credit card transactions in non PCI-approved environments. Stores that aren't compliant can be fined, have their transaction fees raised, or even have their merchant accounts frozen.

On May 7, CRE Secure satisfied all requirements for the "PCI Payment Application Data Security Standard revision 1.2" and [JR1] as a Level One Service Provider-which indicates the highest level of protection. The several-month process was carried out by Coalfire Systems, a PCI-approved "Qualified Security Assessor."

CRE Secure takes the worry out of the daunting PCI-compliance process. The service-which is free for merchants who have accounts with participating credit card processors-integrates  with retailers' existing online shopping cart programs and connects those programs to the major banks.

Further, CRE Secure is the only payment system that automatically mirrors any retailer's website design.

When an online store is powered by CRE Secure's HTML Clone^TM technology, shoppers never know they left the site when they're ready to pay...even though their transactions are hosted in one of the most secure PCI-compliant data centers in the country. With services such as PayPal, on the other hand, shoppers are sent to another company's own branded page-a process that often leads to buyer confusion and abandoned orders.

A great time to launch a secure ecommerce solution

Chain Reaction eCommerce CEO Greg McGraw believes now is the perfect time to be launching CRE Secure:

• While much of the retail industry is suffering, McGraw says, online spending is fairing well. According to April survey by research firms Performics and ROI Research, 19 percent of respondents said they would spend more money online during the summer than they did a year ago. More than 40 percent of respondents, meanwhile, said they'd spend as much money.

• In addition, the number of data breaches continues to skyrocket. According to the 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon Business, there were 285 million records compromised in 2008. Payment Card Data breaches accounted for 81% of the total incidents and 98% of the total records breached.

• In addition, McGraw says, CRE Secure is backed by an industry mandate. Even smaller online retailers who are found to not be in compliance after Oct. 1 could be fined by their acquiring bank $5,000 to $100,000 per month for PCI violations.

"While other ecommerce companies are scrambling to make their payment systems PCI-compliant, we saw the writing on the wall early," says McGraw, a serial entrepreneur who came to Chain Reaction eCommerce from TechCFO, where he assisted early-stage companies raise venture funding. "But we weren't satisfied with just making the most secure downloadable system available. We also wanted to address the main problems our customers were having with 'out of scope' payment services such as PayPal and Google Checkout."

CRE Secure is backed by $5 million in venture capital and years of development. The system can work with a growing number of "open source" shopping carts, including Chain Reaction eCommerce's award-winning, PCI-certified CRE Loaded software.  For more information, contact 800.609.2141.

About CRE Secure

Data breaches. Identity theft. Payment Card Industry (PCI) security compliance.

Small- and medium-sized online retailers already have so much to worry about. Like selling merchandise. And making ends meet.

CRE Secure^TM, a free online payment system from Chain Reaction eCommerce, takes the worry out of credit card security and complex PCI rules. So retailers can focus on what they do best: Pleasing customers.

CRE Secure is the first PCI-compliant payment system that connects a retailer's online shopping cart directly to a credit card processor. It's also the first payment system that automatically evolves to mirror any retailer's website design, giving customers a seamless transistion. From first click to last.

CRE Secure is where online merchants go for safe-and branded-PCI-compliant transactions.

For more information, visit www.cresecure.com, www.crecommerce.com or call 800.609.2141.

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Media Contact:                 Justin Rubner         404.300.9177

 [JR1]Can we post our certification online?  WE CAN LINK TO A PDF (GM)