-- It is Only the Second Finnish Company to Achieve Certification
SHANGHAI, Dec. 20 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- FreeStar Technology Corp. (OTC
Bulletin Board: FSRT - News) an international card payments processor and
technology company, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Rahaxi
Processing Oy., is now listed on Visa’s website, along with such companies
as First Data International, as having been awarded Payment Card Industry
Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance accreditation to provide payment
solutions in Europe. It is the second Finnish payments solution provider to
receive certification.
PCI DSS is a set of industry-wide requirements and processes (instituted
by Visa, MasterCard, Diners, AMEX, JCB and Discover) that ensure the security
of valuable cardholder account data. PCI DSS includes requirements for
security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software
design and other critical protective measures.
This comprehensive standard is intended to proactievly protect consumer
data for organiztions that store, transmit or process cardholder account and
transaction data, including merchants, acquiring banks and related service
providers.
Paul Egan, chief executive officer of FreeStar Technology, said, "We are
delighted to announce our certification for the PCI DSS compliance. This is
an important milestone for the company, one that should attract significant
new business. We are pleased to have met Visa’s rigorous standards and
make it to Visa’s final list of 100 companies considering that there are
several thousand competitors in the industry."
"Enforcement of the new standard is increasingly more vigilant with
increased financial penalties for non-compliance and the real threat of
acceptance privileges being suspended or revoked for organizations that do
not demonstrate compliance with the standard," he added.
Sysnet Ltd., an official Visa Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) in
assessing onsite compliance to PCI Standards, carried out the certification
process. The certification indicates that Rahaxi Processing has been assessed
against the objectives of the Visa Account Information Security (AIS), using
the PCI DSS validation methods and was found to be compliant to PCI DSS.
Vivian Duff, business manager of Sysnet said, "Having worked closely with
Rahaxi Processing during the last 12 months, it was a rewarding experience to
see how the PCI DSS has helped validate the high level of information
security management that has been developed to protect the business interests
of its clients."
Duff added, "I congratulate Rahaxi Processing on achieving this
certification and demonstrating its commitment to deliver secure services to
its clients in Europe."
Jyrki Matikainen, sales director of Rahaxi Processing, said, "After
working hard for more than a year on the PCI project, we are happy to receive
the Visa approval. By combining PCI security with Rahaxi Processing’s
existing services and our several EMV certifications we provide our customers
with a trustworthy, accessible and a secure turnkey solution. As the payment
industry gets more diversified, the biggest merchants and the POS vendors are
starting to look for dedicated payment specialists. Rahaxi Processing is now
in a very promising position to fulfil this need. As sales director, I
believe, the certification will have a positive impact on our revenue."
About FreeStar Technology Corporation
FreeStar Technology Corporation provides mission critical solutions to
the financial industry worldwide. Working with merchants and acquires in over
twenty countries, our product suite has empowered partners to focus on their
core competencies, while our innovative driven approach has allowed them to
benefit from first to market advantage and realise their true potential.
FreeStar Technology Corporation has adopted a partnership strategy for
growth. Our partners are market leaders in their respective industries. These
include IKEA, Finnair and Stockmann. Our Subsidiaries Rahaxi Processing Oy
Finland, FreeStar Technologies Ireland Limited and FreeStar Dominicana S.A.
Dominican Republic, continue to develop and implement first class products
and solutions that enhance the service level our partners can offer
customers. For more information, please visit http://www.freestartech.com or
http://www.rahaxi.com .
About Sysnet Ltd.
Sysnet Ltd helps organizations to meet today’s challenges by providing a
full range of services for assessing and assuring PCI DSS compliance. Our
services include PCI DSS Assessments, Audits, Vulnerability Scanning,
Penetration Testing and Payment Application Best Practice Assessments. For
more information visit our website http://www.sysnet.ie or email
info@sysnet.ie
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking
information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933
and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to
the safe harbor created by those rules. When used in this press release, the
words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "will" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These are
statements that relate to future periods and include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding our adequacy of cash, expectations regarding net losses
and cash flow, statements regarding our growth, our need for future
financing, our dependence on personnel, and our operating expenses. All
statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release,
including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans
and objectives of the companies, are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, those discussed above as well as risks set forth above
under "Factors That May Affect Our Results." These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Technical
complications that may arise could prevent the prompt implementation of any
strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The companies caution that
these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors
including, but not limited to, those set forth in FreeStar’s Form 10-KSB
filing and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(available at http://www.sec.gov ). FreeStar undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.