OPTUS BUSINESS SMARTPAY ACHIEVES INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CERTIFICATION

Optus Business SmartPay is the first payment gateway from a telco to attain PCI DSS compliance in Australia and New Zealand

Optus Business SmartPay, a managed bill payment solution for financial institutions and retailers, has achieved compliance to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), providing customers with greater security assurance and data protection.

PCI DSS is a globally recognised standard developed by the major payment card companies to help organisations that process payment cards to protect against fraud, hacking and various other security vulnerabilities and threats.

According to a June report from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australians are increasingly embracing online payments. 60 percent of Australians with Internet access pay most of their bills online, while the biggest deterrent to making any type of payment online is the risk of fraud.

"More and more people are transacting online, so protecting their personal data is critical," said Trudy Holtzhausen, Acting Director, Fixed Products and Marketing at Optus Business.

"As the payments partner for many leading financial institutions, Optus wants to help its customers stay at the forefront of security standards. We have invested a significant amount of time and resource to achieve PCI DSS compliance for Optus Business SmartPay so our customers can give their customers greater assurance that their financial data is safe."

The certification was issued by Vectra Corporation Ltd, an organisation certified for PCI DSS compliance auditing. Vectra Corporation required Optus to prove it could build and maintain a secure network with strong access control measures and ensure protection of cardholder data. Additionally, Optus must maintain an information security policy and regularly monitor and test its networks as part of its vulnerability management program.

Vectra Corporation Qualified Security Assessor James Lassetter said, "Optus Business SmartPay is the first payment gateway from a telecommunications provider in Australia and New Zealand to attain PCI DSS compliance. Vectra congratulates Optus on successfully implementing the rigorous measures required to achieve this."

PCI DSS certification and compliance is closely monitored by financial institutions. Optus worked closely with ANZ Bank as its strategic partner to support the efforts to meet this global security standard.

Marj Demmer, GM - Cards and Payment Services at ANZ, congratulated Optus on reaching the major milestone. "Achieving PCI DSS compliance for a product the size and complexity of Optus Business SmartPay is a challenge and we are delighted ANZ was able to assist Optus in reaching this goal."

About Optus Business SmartPay
Optus Business SmartPay securely processes customer bill payments online or over the phone. Find out more about Optus Business SmartPay.

Media contacts:

Kasia Ciszak
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850

Simon Fitzgerald
Text 100 Public Relations
Tel: 02 9956 5733
E: sydneyoptusteam@text100.com.au