Verizon Business Helps Electronic Payment Services Provider VocaLink Meet Payment Card Industry Data-Certification Standards

VocaLink, the international payments specialist, has chosen Verizon Business to help ensure that the company's services continue to comply with international payment card industry data-security standards.

Verizon Business professional consultants are providing a range of audit, management and implementation services to help VocaLink achieve and maintain Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certification.

VocaLink has been designing and delivering intelligent automated payments systems for more than 40 years. The company's Card Services business has proven experience in partnering with banks, independent ATM operators and communities to create opportunities within the card payment value chain. VocaLink processes over 3.2 billion card-initiated payments every year.

David Conkleton, VocaLink Card Services' managing director, said: "VocaLink's ability to securely and effectively manage huge amounts of confidential data every day is key to maintaining the company's reputation for first-class customer service.  PCI-DSS compliance means that our customers can be assured of the security of our services - and therefore the security of their own transactions. The Verizon Business team's strong expertise and experience in both the security and financial markets have helped us achieve this latest certification extremely quickly. Compliance is a key ongoing focus for our business, and in Verizon Business we have found a partner we believe will help us achieve our ongoing compliance goals."

The inaugural "Verizon Payment Card Industry Compliance Report," issued in October 2010, examined the state of compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which was created in 2006 to protect cardholder data and reduce credit card fraud.  Company investigators found that organizations that have suffered a breach are 50 percent less likely to be PCI compliant, and that only 22 percent of organizations were PCI compliant at the time of their initial examination.  However, the report also showed that compliance can dramatically reduce credit card data breaches. A complete copy of the Verizon Payment Card Industry Compliance Report is available at www.verizonbusiness.com/go/pcireport.

Verizon is a global leader in driving better business outcomes for mid-sized and large enterprises and government agencies.  The company combines integrated communications and IT solutions, and professional services expertise with its high-IQ global IP and mobility networks to enable businesses to securely access information, share content and communicate.  Verizon is transforming itself around a cloud-based "everything-as-a-service" delivery model that will put the power of enterprise-class solutions within the reach of every business, where and when they're needed.  Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

About VocaLink
VocaLink is a specialist payments partner to banks, corporates and Government departments. We design and deliver smarter domestic and international automated payments systems, and smarter ATM switching solutions. In fact, our switching platform connects over 60,000 ATMS, the world's busiest network, while our payments platform processes over 500 million payments per month. Having pioneered electronic payments for over 40 years, it's perhaps no surprise that many major organizations have come to rely on our services. For example, our Real-time Payments Platform is the central infrastructure for the UK's Faster Payments Service, whilst we are working with BGC, Sweden's leading payments provider, to provide outsourced processing for the majority of Sweden's domestic payments. We are very proud of our service delivery record. Our platforms operate on never-fail technology to ensure total reliability and availability 24 hours a day, allowing us to meet our customer needs. In short, our smarter payments capabilities offer banks, corporates and government departments reach throughout SEPA and beyond. VocaLink. Safer payments, smarter partner.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 94.1 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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