MENTOR, Ohio, Sept. 8, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- CardinalCommerce Corporation and Provident Bank have announced their partnership today. Provident Bank will offer CardinalCommerce's payment authentication software, Cardinal Centinel(tm), to their online merchant customers. The Provident Bank is the main subsidiary of Provident Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:PFGI), a bank holding company located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
CardinalCommerce is the leading provider of online merchant payment authentication for securing online transactions. Cardinal Centinel is designed for acquiring banks, merchant service providers and their merchants. The software reduces the level of online fraudulent transactions and guarantees payment to online merchants who use it, while protecting the accounts of cardholders.
"Eliminating fraud, lost merchandise, and high charge-back rates are major priorities for our merchants, and Cardinal Centinel will do all of this," stated Mike Lohmueller, Vice President of Provident Bank. "Our merchants will gain the benefits of both MasterCard(r) SecureCode(tm) and Verified by Visa in one simple, low-cost and easy to install solution. The 'return on investment' for our merchants is very clear."
CardinalCommerce's software enables multi-factor authentication to definitively identify individuals and reduces fraud. The software also features an audit trail that issuers may use for validation. Its flexible technology-neutral architecture will recognize and use today's authentication systems, including a cardholder's username and password, hardware signature (Machine ID), smart cards, digital certificates, biometrics, and even mobile or wireless devices. This allows consumers the freedom of shopping safely and securely online in whichever mode they prefer.
"We appreciate Provident Bank's endorsement of our solution," stated Kendall Myles, senior vice president of merchant services, for CardinalCommerce. "We look forward to providing their Internet merchants with the best payment authentication software on the market and reassuring their consumers that shopping online can be a safe and secure experience."
About Provident Bank
Provident Bank is the main subsidiary of Provident Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PFGI), a bank holding company located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Provident Bank provides a diverse line of banking and financial products, services and solutions through retail banking offices located in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and the West Coast of Florida, and through commercial lending offices located throughout Ohio and surrounding states. Customers have access to banking services 24-hours a day through Provident's extensive network of ATMs, Telebank, a telephone customer service center, and the Internet at http://www.providentbank.com. At March 31, 2003, Provident Financial Group had $9.2 billion in loans outstanding, $10.7 billion in deposits, and assets of $17.7 billion. Provident has served the financial needs of its customers for 100 years, and currently 3,400 Provident associates serve approximately 600,000 customers.
About CardinalCommerce Corporation
CardinalCommerce Corporation is a leading provider of a technology-neutral authentication platform for securing electronic and wireless commerce, thus ensuring that individuals, businesses and government agencies can process electronic transactions and access confidential information safely, securely and privately. Cardinal's proprietary technology provides consumers, merchants, credit/debit card issuers, and processors the ability to conduct fully authenticated Internet-based e-commerce, while protecting the transactions from fraud. CardinalCommerce is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and has partners throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. For more information, visit www.cardinalcommerce.com.