clients / case studies / businesses

3C Communications

Goal

To improve automation of the processing of daily credit card authorizations, clearing and reporting in hotels, restaurants, parking garages and pay phones in over 20 countries worldwide.

Solution

A real-time web-based secure authorization and clearing system for credit cards, built upon SQL and Oracle databases to supplant most of their existing technology, plus a new web-based, worldwide reporting system. The solution is accessible by customers and internal management from any global location.

Results


Introduction

3C needed to carry out a massive overhaul of its existing processing system for credit card transactions, without impact to its on-going operations. This presented a challenge of great complexity that required the secure gathering of sales data from point-of-sales devices in 20+ countries; the clearing of those transactions with many multi-national banks and credit card companies; the collation of the reports that are used by 3C to calculate credit card company fees and 3C’s processing fees; as well as the reports that individual clients use to review the credit card sales activity of their business(es) . It needed to be carried out within a highly secure environment, and allow for easy access online by 3C internally, their clients, and financial institutions, while incorporating data integration of sensitive financial information for thousands of 3C customers.

To meet that challenge, the Ephibian team consulted extensively with 3C management and carefully evaluated its existing processing methods, network topology and its individual assets and risk profile. Once the Ephibian strategy was approved, and Ephibian worked closely with 3C to implement the solution.

What did we do?

Ephibian designed and built improved real-time authorization mechanisms; redesigned clearing systems; and a comprehensive web-based secure reporting system that included:
  • Access by customers and internal management from various locations in over 20 countries
  • Interfaces to banks in the US and in several European countries that automated the necessary currency conversions within our dynamic currency conversion subsystem
  • Software that ensured compliance with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Discover Card, and Carte Blanche requirements
  • Software that ensured credit card bank certification in the US and over 20 other countries
  • Software to allow for internet kiosk and phone usage from public credit card enabled locations
  • Compliance with all of 3C’s security requirements
  • Updating of UK Parking Payment System

How did we do it?

The solution provided by Ephibian included:
  • The performing of network and system evaluations from topology studies, non-intrusive port scanning, and audit technology that identified weaknesses in network and server configuration as well as identification of known vulnerabilities
  • Working closely with 3C staff to secure server configurations, increase firewall security, and incorporate new security technology like VPNs, Tripwire, Log Monitor, and automated notification tools
  • Converting the Support System, Authorization Server, and Web Reports Server to the new Euro currency standard.
  • Developing various Bank Interfaces, including Sermepa Bank in Spain, Merita Bank in Finland, Alpha Bank in Greece, and Polcard Bank in Poland, plus 3C’s first US bank interface (First Data Merchant Services) that included Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) for the US that was also required to pass CISP certification
  • Developing Linux and Java based software for core systems to authorize and process Internet Netset Kiosk and phone usage through credit card transactions
  • Developing the transaction file loader (“TFL”) program on the new Support System
  • Developing an Internet encryption server to authorize transactions over the Internet for both older NT based terminals as well as new Linux based terminals
  • Converting the UK Parking Payment, Invoicing and Reporting System from MS-Access to the new Oracle-backed, Web-based Reports Server
  • Developing software which enabled customer reports to be automatically faxed or emailed to multiple addresses each day, as well as being posted to the web; while ensuring that individual customers can only view their own transactions and cannot see any credit card or financial information of other customers.
  • Using a platform that consisted of a Red Hat Linux Operating System, Tomcat Application Server, Postgre SQL & Oracle Databases and EFT Using Java

What was the result?

On average 3C successfully authorized, processed, cleared and reported on over six million credit card transactions per month. Unique clearing interfaces were developed to clear transactions to many multi-national banks. The system operated successfully for multiple currency transactions, including successful adoption of the Euro currency.

3C’s central data server was able to successfully and securely report on over 60 million transactions and imported and processed over 100,000 new credit card transaction reports each day. The reporting system provided approximately 90,000 unique reports to clients each month.