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Have
you heard of ClearCommerce? The Austin, Texas-based company provides
e-commerce transaction software for merchants worldwide, including
notables such as Apple Computer, E-Stamp, Harrods, and Chase Merchant
Services. But, merchants don’t have to be powerhouses to benefit from
the ClearCommerce Engine. They can have their transaction processing needs
met through one of ClearCommerce’s Commerce Service Provider (CSP)
partners such as Chase, EDS, and Cardservice International who use the
ClearCommerce Engine.
ClearCommerce software features real-time credit card processing and
Internet fraud protection, as well as online reports, storefront
integration, back-end integration, shipping/tax calculation, and delivery
of digital merchandise. What makes ClearCommerce different is that they
provide complete transaction processing solutions that integrate Internet
sales into a merchant’s existing business systems, in addition to
protecting their customers from fraud. Robert J. Lynch, President and CEO
tells us, “The new wave of e-commerce is about maximizing efficiencies
and making a profit. Our focus is on helping companies achieve the levels
of non-stop Internet commerce it will take for them to be leaders through
the next phase of the Internet.”
ClearCommerce is a partner-oriented company, meaning they focus on the
core competency of their transaction engine, avoiding any wasteful overlap
with their partners, which include platform developers, application
developers, system integrators, merchant banks, and CSPs. In fact, if you
are familiar with Cardservice International’s “Linkpoint” program,
then you know ClearCommerce. Linkpoint is Cardservice’s branded version
of the ClearCommerce product. The
Players
ClearCommerce has been providing transaction processing solutions for over
5 years now. ClearCommerce’s Board of Directors includes representatives
from Austin Ventures, Voyager Capital, Internet Capital Group, and New
Enterprise Associates. Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Financial Technology
Ventures are also equity investors. And, the ClearCommerce team of James
Treybig, Robert J. Lynch, Riss Estes, and Julie Fergerson has years of
experience, something uncommon in this dotcom/IPO era.
James Treybig, founder and former CEO of Tandem Computers, serves as
chairman of ClearCommerce’s board. Robert J. Lynch is ClearCommerce’s
president and CEO. ClearCommerce is Lynch’s fourth pre-IPO venture and
he has more than 10 years experience in the debit/credit industry. Julie
Fergerson, chief technology officer and co-founder, has more than 20 years
experience, six with IBM. Finally, Riss Estes, vice president of Strategy
and co-founder, was previously with the point-of-sale technologies
division of Schlumberger. In
the Beginning There Were Two
The company was founded by Fergerson and Estes in 1995 as OutReach
Communications. Robert Lynch came on board in 1996 and a year later Austin
Ventures and Internet Capital Group invested $3.5 million. That same year
Jimmy Treybig joined as Chairman. In January 1999, the company received
another round of funding from the initial investors, plus Voyager Capital,
New Enterprise Associates, and Intel, totaling $10.5 million. This past
January, the company secured $30 million in funding from the original
venture capital firms, plus Hewlett-Packard and Financial Technology
Ventures. Over the last year, ClearCommerce has orchestrated partnerships
with Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Chase Merchant Services, while also
gaining new customers such as PNC Bank, Cooking.com, and EDS.
Initially, ClearCommerce hosted one merchant Internet software product;
today they work with more than 100 shopping cart programs. Today
ClearCommerce has the 24/7 mindset. Ferguson told us, “I grew up at IBM
so I knew software had to be 24/7.” What
They Do Julie
Fergerson tells us that integrating the Internet sale with legacy systems,
protecting retailers and consumers from fraud, and making online payments
safe, secure, and automated are key elements of ClearCommerce technology.
As mentioned above, an important aspect of the ClearCommerce engine is
that it integrates existing business systems, such as accounting systems,
fulfillment, call centers, and order entry. Transaction
Processing
The ClearCommerce Engine works with a variety of storefronts and is
compatible with credit card processors and merchant banks who handle 90
percent of credit card transactions. The ClearCommerce Engine can process
up to 62 transactions per second and can support thousands of merchants on
one server. That means ISPs or Web malls can support many merchants as
they grow. As transaction activity increases, multiple servers can be
clustered to add even greater performance. The best part? The costs are
fixed; ClearCommerce does not charge ongoing transaction fees or a
percentage of customer revenue for its software, as many competitors do.
ClearCommerce also offers online reports that provide a real-time picture
of the sales for each month and merchants are able to perform functions,
such as issuing a credit, directly within the report. Fraud
Analysis
ClearCommerce’s credit card processing includes Internet fraud
protection and prevention called FraudShield. In addition to built-in
fraud checking, FraudShield allows merchants to build rules that block
industry-specific or merchant-specific fraudulent transactions. Merchants
can enter any combination of more than 50 data fields into “if-then”
expressions to check for fraud. For each rule, the merchant defines an
“accept,” “reject,” or “continue” outcome. FraudShield also
offers the merchant the capability to receive an e-mail alert when a
particular FraudShield rule is triggered.
In addition to merchant-configurable fraud rules, ClearCommerce has
researched the patterns of fraudulent activity and built rules that seek
out and identify those patterns. FraudShield executes automatic lockouts
when repeated fraud attacks are detected and performs built-in
preventative checks such as checking for duplicate orders, validating
e-mail addresses, and verifying zip codes. Additionally, FraudShield can
identify if an order is based on a credit card generation program and once
they see a pattern, they are able to block out that particular IP address. QuickStart
ClearCommerce also launched QuickStart, a program allowing Internet
businesses to start using the merchant engine right away, without
installing and running the software on their own. QuickStart users
purchase a license to use the ClearCommerce Merchant Engine and then
ClearCommerce administers transaction processing until the company is
prepared to move the technology in-house. Additionally, as the
customer’s business grows, ClearCommerce’s scalable architecture
permits the processing engine to adapt to dramatic increases in sales
volumes. Clients
ClearCommerce’s enterprise customers include Apple Computer, Inc., HP
Shopping Village, Cabela’s, Inc., Harrods, and E-Stamp. CSPs include
Cardservice International, Chase, and Orbit Commerce. Partners include
First Data Merchant Services, Microsoft, BroadVision, Vignette, and ATG.
Additionally, just this past July, ClearCommerce and First of Omaha
Merchant Processing formed a co-marketing agreement to offer online
transaction processing and fraud protection to First of Omaha’s 75,000
merchants.
Also in July, Flooz.com, provider of the online gift currency, became one
of the first wireless e-tailers in the U.S. by implementing
ClearCommerce’s wireless payment processing. Flooz uses
ClearCommerce’s e-commerce technology to allow consumers to purchase
products anytime, anywhere using a wireless device, such as a cellular
phone or personal digital assistant, making the Web an easily accessed
resource for consumers on the go. To implement the solution, merchants
simply install the ClearCommerce Engine on their wireless Web server. The
Web server then sends signals to cellular phones and other wireless
devices allowing them to conduct mobile commerce transactions.
In June, Chase Merchant Services launched a suite of e-commerce enabling
products with ClearCommerce and kinzan.com. eWEBuilder, Bolt on Store, and
eAPPLY are the first products in a series of e-commerce tools Chase is
providing to merchants, CSPs, and Web developers. The ClearCommerce Engine
will provide Chase’s merchants with secure transactions and fraud
protection and creates a path for customers who may choose to bring their
transaction processing solution in-house at a later date. Merchants get to
market quickly by initially outsourcing the transaction processing service
through Chase Merchant Services. Then, for eWEBuilder merchants who
achieve very high transaction volumes, ClearCommerce provides an option
for them to bring the ClearCommerce Engine in-house.
For more information about ClearCommerce’s transaction solutions and
fraud protection, and the financial services companies who use their
products, visit their Web site at http://www.clearcommerce.com
or call (888)
725-9345.
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