TNS Partners with AJB Software To Bring Outsourced Payment Services to Large Retailers

Large merchants that work with AJB Software Design Inc. to handle their payments-technology integration have a new option to use for outsourcing their payment needs. They can use TNSPayDirect, a new service from Transaction Network Services Inc., which provides access to an AJB retail transaction switch.

AJB’s retail transaction switch makes the connection between a retailer’s point of sale methods and its corporate data center. It is compatible with a variety of payment methods, such as PIN debit, card present, and card not present. TNSPayDirect adds the ability to work with chip-and-PIN, mobile payments and near-field communication (NFC) transactions.

TNSPayDirect is a tool that retailers can use to incorporate the AJB switch along with their payment services, says David Cronin, senior vice president and general manager of TNS’s payments division. “TNSPayDirect brings the solutions that TNS provides to the AJB environment,” Cronin says. That includes encryption services, tokenization, managing the connection from the merchant to TNS, and routing transactions to other payment entities, such as payment gateways and hardware-security modules that handle cryptographic processing.

One benefit for retailers using the service is the ability to outsource managing the technology needs of their payments systems, potentially freeing up their internal technology staff for other projects, Cronin says. AJB has more than 140 clients across North America.

Both TNS and AJB are targeting the largest retailers, often called Tier 1 merchants. These merchants in particular look for ways to reduce their payment-technology costs, especially if those choices can diminish their costs of complying with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI), says Pat Polillo, AJB vice president of sales and marketing. They want options, like TNSPayDirect, that can manage all of their payment technology and the PCI-compliance requirements, he says.

Clients pay a monthly subscription fee that can vary depending on the types of services, number of processor and acquirer connections, and other criteria.