Payment Product Provides High-Speed, Low-Cost Transactions

When a young woman uses her credit card at Body Central to purchase that perfect outfit, the last thing on her mind is whether the transaction is secure. But the security of that transaction and the protection of customers' personal information is a top priority for Body Central — a retailer of contemporary apparel and accessories for young women — owned and operated by Body Shop of America, Inc.

Recognizing that some of its high-profile retail counterparts had recently fallen victim to payment card hackers, Body Central, which has 178 stores in 23 states, wanted its customers to feel confident that their credit and debit card data was protected when shopping in its stores, on its Web site, or by catalog. The retailer decided to replace its old manual-entry process with a state-of-the-art system that would minimize the company's exposure to credit card fraud and protect its customers.

Shift Your Payment Card Liability
Body Central's old credit card payment system required the store cashier to manually enter credit card info into stand-alone credit card machines. Once an authorization was received, the store cashier would manually enter the tender amount and last four digits of the credit card into the POS terminal. "This process took about 45 seconds to complete, left room for human error, and was not secure," says Jerry Kerr, CIO for Body Shop of America.

To improve this process and create a fully integrated solution, Body Central chose Shift4, a developer of secure financial transaction processing software and services, and its $$$ ON THE NET Web-based payment gateway product. "The Shift4 solution is designed to provide high-speed and low-cost authorizations and settlements for credit, debit, check, private label, and gift card transactions," says Kerr.

Kerr says the new system results in the liability moving from Body Central to Shift4, because Shift4 takes control of the credit card information. For example, Shift4 stores the credit card information and puts a 'token' (i.e. a tag) on it. That token information is shared with Body Central, and that's how a sale is referenced — not by the credit card information. Thus, the $$$ ON THE NET system offers transaction security by removing all usable personal card data from the entire transaction process, including POS devices. This Tokenization technology, which was invented by Shift4, includes the ability to access, review, and edit transactions prior to settlement. It also includes a searchable 24-month archive of transactions for reporting and charge-back defense.

Decrease Checkout Time, Achieve PCI Compliance
The new Shift4 payment system has had multiple positive effects for Body Central's business. The new system has removed the stand-alone credit card machines, resulting in a faster card authorization process (i.e. 45 seconds to 5 seconds) for the customer. This means no more credit slips, just one receipt. In addition, the Shift4 product captures all of the customer's data electronically — both the customer's signature and credit card information.

$$$ ON THE NET also helps Body Central with Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance; since the application is in compliance with all current card association regulations, Kerr doesn't have to worry about PCI compliance. Furthermore, the solution and Shift4's redundant data centers are recognized by Visa and MasterCard as compliant with PCI Data Security Standards.

"We are protecting the customers' data and minimizing exposing them to fraud and hackers," Kerr says. "By having an integrated payment solution, we are saving our customers checkout time, and the whole credit card process is more secure and simpler for our employees. Shift4's $$$ ON THE NET Web-based product also allows for easy end-of-day settlement and reduces customer disputes. The result is we have become more efficient in our operations through the use of this technology."

For More Information On Shift4
Go To www.shift4.com