Eckoh Granted US Patent for CallGuard Payment Technology

Eckoh, a global provider of secure payment products and customer service solutions, today announces that it has been granted, effective from 3 November 2015, a US patent (No. US9178974) for the transaction security method and system that underpins its CallGuard product.

Eckoh already holds an existing UK patent (No. 2478916) for its CallGuard On-Site solution which prevents sensitive customer cardholder data from reaching call recordings and contact center agents by using a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) masking method.

The US patent will enable Eckoh to protect its intellectual property in North America where currently all of its installed US client base use this technology. Over the next three years the CallGuard On-Site product is expected to continue to account for a significant proportion of sales.

CallGuard On-site is installed on customers' premises and has proven successful with its simple and quick implementation. When customers enter their card number using their telephone's keypad, a filter changes the DTMF tones to flat tones, allowing call recording to continue uninterrupted. The Tone Device is installed on the agent's phone, which encrypts the tones before they reach the agent's screens to stop key loggers or screen recordings accessing the data. Simultaneously, the DataShield software on the agent's desktop masks the credit card information from the agent so that they cannot see it but can continue processing the order with the customer over the phone.

Once CallGuard is installed, businesses benefit immediately from the ability to take secure payments from their customers over the phone, without any impact on customer service standards. CallGuard eliminates any risk of fraud and helps companies meet PCI DSS compliance standards.

Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer of Eckoh, commented: "The US is a significant market for us and we are working with organizations that have a keen interest in protecting their payment channels from fraud risk and achieving PCI DSS compliance as quickly and effectively as possible. This patent will not only strengthen our position in the market but it will allow us to protect our investment in this technology. We are extremely proud of CallGuard, which has become a popular and straightforward method for businesses to meet their PCI DSS compliance requirements and payment security challenges."

For more information, please contact MediaResponseUS@eckoh.com