PASS - Payments as a Secure Service
Transforming commerce over IP by enabling software as a service. IP Commerce enables developers, service providers, processers and ISVs access to IP Commerce's SOA, Secure Payments SDK, the IPPF platform and PABP & PCI certification to develop new commerce enabled applications.

http://www.passpayments.com

The PASS™ (Payments as a Secure Service)™ Consortium is a group of leading financial institutions and payment service providers promoting the delivery of a wide range of innovative financial management solutions to small businesses through the Windows Vista™ Business operating system, with underlying technology enabled by IP Commerce.

The result is PASS Commerce Center, an application that allows businesses using Microsoft Windows Vista Business to easily find new commerce tools, make and receive payments and financing over the Internet, creating new revenue models and commerce abilities.

Chase Paymentech
With PASS Credit Card Processing, Chase Paymentech enables a business computer to become a point-of-sale terminal for credit card processing.

CIT
With PASS Financial Solutions, CIT provides businesses access to financing including payment protection, small business loans, and equipment financing.

PayPal
PayPal enables sending and receiving of online payments, and payment info and messaging with PASS Email Invoicing.

BankServ
BankServ Remote Check Deposit service eliminates trips to the bank, and allows payments to be posted automatically to your accounts receivable application.

Internet Commerce Corporation (ICC)
PASS EDI Pay allows businesses to receive purchase orders and create invoice requests for large trading partners.

In addition, PASS is associated with the PASS Gadget as seen on the Microsoft Market Place for the Vista Sidebar, as well as:
IPPF -IP Payments Framework www.ippaymentsframework.com
Secure Payments SDK
Commerce enabling Vista and XP applications<br/>

IP Payments Framework™
The Technology Behind PASS

The IP Payments Framework (IPPF) from IP Commerce is the technology that brings together the companies offering PASS commerce services to the Windows Vista™ Business operating system, and ensures that all transactions are conducted securely over Internet Protocol (IP).

What IS the IP Payments Framework?
Generally speaking, the IP Payments Framework is a software platform that allows merchants and businesses to connect to practically any payment service.

A New Platform for Payments Services
The IPPF platform enables commerce service companies to provide a growing range of services over the Internet to businesses. The IPPF also enforces new security recommendations which protect sensitive customer information.

Using the IPPF platform, service providers and software developers collaborate in new ways. Commerce services and applications can be combined into an offering that’s just right for your business.

A New Level of Protection for Transactions
The IPPF is built to support industry recommendations for protecting against identity theft and fraud. In fact, IPPF is one of the few applications that have demonstrated compliance to rigorous standards for cardholder data protection.

PASS (or the Proof of Age Standards Scheme) is a government-backed scheme in the UK that gives young people a valid and accepted form of Proof of Age identification. The scheme is supported by the Home Office, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

Set up in January 2003, it acts an umbrella system, which means there are no PASS cards, but other cards can use PASS technology. 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for January, 2003. ...

The main benefit for retailers is the fact they know that if a young person presents them with a card with a PASS hologram on it, they know it is reliable and accurate proof of age. This is particularly useful for those that sell products which have an age restriction on them, such as cigarettes and alcohol. Holography (from the Greek, Όλος-holos whole + γραφή-graphe writing) is the science of producing holograms; it is an advanced form of photography that allows an image to be recorded in three dimensions. ... A lit cigarette will burn to ash from one end. ... Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ...

Many local councils offer Proof of Age cards with the PASS hologram to young people. There are also a few national schemes, including the government-funded Connexions Card, Validate, Citizencard, Young Scot and the Portman Group's Proof Of Age Card. A Connexions Card is a card for teenagers in England, created as part of the government-funded Connexions service in an attempt to reduce levels of truancy and unemployment. ...

 (The Connexions Card scheme is ending and is not accepting any new applications). 

However, some issues occur with this system, as many places requiring proof of age will not accept a small number of cards, and there is no governmental pressure on retailers of age restricted products to do so.

Most retailers should accept proof of age cards bearing the PASS hologram. Where a refusal does occur, the issuers of the PASS accredited cards ( ie Citizencard, Validate etc) like to be informed in order to investigate and educate the retailer on the merits of the scheme.

External links

http://www.pass-scheme.org.uk/ - the PASS website

• Connexions Card - (No longer issuing new cards)
• VALIDATEUK
• News article from the British Retail Consortium
• Q&A from the British Retail Consortium