Ezidebit, an Australian provider of outsourced electronic payment solutions, was recently awarded the Australian Business Award for 2010 in the category of financial services, making it the premier third-party debit provider.

The company recently upgraded its security infrastructure, providing its customers the highest tier of credit card data protection currently available, called PCI DSS Level One compliance. This protection applies to securing, transmitting, and processing credit card and debit card data during transaction processing. Ezidebit operates in Australia and New Zealand, and is the only provider that has reached such a level of security compliance in both countries within its industry.

Having passed the audit to achieve Level One status, Ezidebit’s 6000 clients can now assure their customers of its enhanced security features, as well as the measures employed to ensure secure credit and debit transactions.

For a company to become PCI Level One compliant, the firm must meet a set of stringent standards, now mandatory for all payment service providers (or merchants). Merchants must undergo and pass network scans four times per year, plus an annual onsite security assessment, held by an independent qualified security assessor (QSA).

Though compliance is mandatory for payment service providers, it is not for third-party direct payment providers; hence Ezidebit is the only provider amongst its peers to register such a high level of compliance, ensuring credit card security and protection for its patrons.

The standards ensure Ezidebit maintains a secure network, which is regularly monitored and tested, while defending cardholder’s details against unauthorized users and placing increased emphasis on information security.

Source: http://www.ezidebit.com.au/