Communications

Australia Post today announced it has partnered with leading retail banking software supplier Ultradata, to provide Australia Post VIP Online Security as an option within Ultradata’s Internet banking software, My Viewpoint. Ultradata is a key technology partner to over 220 institutions including credit unions, building societies and banks in the Asia Pacific financial services market.

Roger Lee, Manager Authentication Services at Australia Post, said Australia Post VIP Online Security, enabled by VeriSign Identity Protection®, offers a low-cost, secure and convenient service for financial institutions to implement strong, multi-factor, one time password (OTP) security tokens for authentication for banking online.

The partnership between Ultradata and Australia Post is an important step forward in helping Australian financial institutions get the right tools to protect their members from the risks associated with online fraud and identity theft. Already several Credit Unions have shown interest in adopting this program, with an expectation to roll this out to their customers within the next few months

said Mr Lee.

Leveraging a shared authentication network, Australia Post VIP Online Security allows online service providers to accept the same authentication credentials as other participating members of VeriSign’s global VIP network.

Although the customer's token can be used at any VIP network member website, each member organisation maintains control over its own business rules and security requirements and no identification or customer account information regarding the customer is ever shared.

Chief Executive Officer of Ultradata, Peter Henshaw, said the option to easily provide multi-factor authentication has been really well received during discussions with financial institutions.

With more and more banking being done online, phishing scams, identity theft and online financial fraud are increasing. Our retail banking clients are looking to provide the best tools possible to protect their customers

said Mr Henshaw.

My Viewpoint already includes impressive security measures; however, this new option provides the next level of solutions for consumer authentication and is supported by two of the pre-eminent organisations in the field of Internet security and identity verification – Australia Post and VeriSign.

Australia Post VIP Online Security is based on open standards. Initially a variety of two-factor, OTP tokens will be offered, allowing participating organisations to choose the token option they distribute to their customers. In the near future, the service will also support the introduction of soft-token credentials, such as mobile phone OTP.

The Australia Post VIP Online Security service complements Australia Post’s growing suite of Identity and Verification services and continues its strong history in providing a broad range of services to financial institutions in Australia, such as Bank@Post, POSTbillpay, In-Person Proofing and verifying people for bank accounts.

Australia Post will be showcasing VIP Online Security at the ACUI Conference and Exposition in Brisbane, February 24 – 28, 2007 where a special Early Adopter program for credit unions and building societies will be announced.

Financial institutions can get in early and register for the special introductory prices and benefits of the Early Adopter Program. For more details or to register, visit www.auspost.com.au/viponlinesecurity or call 1300 364 543.