Electronic commerce is confidently conquering the modern market. In connection with the development of virtual commerce, organizations appear on the Web whose task is to provide platforms for making online payments. These services open up new opportunities for merchants and their customers. One of such services is EPS ASSIST.
 

Historical reference

The ASSIST Internet platform was launched in 1999. It was created by the employees of the Reksoft company, which specialized in the development of complex IT products for various business sectors. The work of many financial institutions is based on software from Reksoft. ASSIST is developing successfully. Within a year, the payment system connects to several of the largest Russian banks. One of them is Alfa-Bank. Thanks to ASSIST, this bank became the first financial institution in Russia to offer its clients a procedure for making virtual payments using the SET technology. 

In the spring of 2002, the system separated from Reksoft and began to function independently. Payment options have expanded significantly. The companys management made a decision to monitor financial transactions carried out with credit cards. An additional security system has been developed for online stores to identify fraudsters and prevent their actions. Customers of the payment system could pay for goods and services using MasterCard , VISA bank cards . For the period from 2002 to 2003. the most popular payment services have connected to ASSIST: Yandex.Money , CreditPilot, WebMoney , E-Port. Now users of the service could also use e-invoices for transactions, which made it easy to carry out micropayments.  
 
 

What is ASSIST?

ASSIST is a universal electronic payment service that allows you to make transactions using payment cards (both plastic and virtual). Transactions are authorized and processed in real time. Over 80% of online payments in the domestic financial market go through the system. Payment services are used by ordinary citizens and corporate clients (virtual stores). The owner of the trading site can accept payment in fiat and electronic money. This does not require the installation of special software. In its activities, the ASSIST payment system is guided by Russian legislation. 


 

About safety

ASSIST developers took care of the financial security of their customers and equipped the service with a reliable security system. Payment and personal information of users is transferred to the system via TLS-type protocols. Further, the information passes through a closed banking network with a high level of protection.
All information about the system participant (details of payment instruments, data that was specified during registration, etc.) is processed in the processing center. This means that the information is not available to third parties (including sellers).

How to register in the system?

The system serves 2 categories of customers: buyers and sellers. Each category has its own registration procedure.

Buyer account registration

Some types of services are available to unregistered users. However, if the buyer wants to take full advantage of ASSIST, he needs to get a personal identification number - Assist®ID. This number allows you to simplify the procedure for conducting transactions (you will not need to enter payment details every time) and provides additional financial security. To get the Assist®ID, you need to do the following.
1. Accept the terms of the public offer agreement.
2. Fill out the registration form, indicating all the information that the system requires.
3. Get the Assist®ID.
Now you need to link your bank card to your account. Of course, this is not a prerequisite, but by synchronizing the payment document with the system, the buyer will be able to receive a plastic Assist®ID card and use additional services. To link a document, you must specify its details in a special form. A certain amount will be deducted from the account (you need to find it out at the bank that issued the card). Now you need to confirm the binding of the card: go to your account, enter your username and password, as well as the exact amount that was withdrawn in favor of ASSIST. A PIN code will appear on the screen. It must be remembered and kept in strict confidence. Buyer account registered! 

Registering a merchant account

Corporate clients must submit an application for registration to the administration of the payment system (to be filled in directly on the website http://www.assist.ru). The application will be reviewed. The ASSIST consultant will inform you about the decision. He will also help to determine the financial organization through which the payments will be made. Next, you need to synchronize the work of the store with the payment server in test mode in order to check the technical compatibility of the trading site with the system.
If no interference occurs, a cooperation agreement is concluded between the owner of the virtual store and ASSIST. Then the service employees perform all the technical work related to connecting the online store to the system (this will take no more than 24 hours). The shopping site is ready to receive payments!
 

Payment service capabilities

Services for buyers

The services provided for buyers allow not only to shop comfortably on the Internet, but also to ensure the safety of purchases.
1. Viewing the history of payments that were accepted by any of the trading sites connected to the service. This function is very useful, especially in situations where various kinds of disputes arise between the buyer and the store or bank that issued the card. The service is also available for unregistered users.
2. Obtaining an identification number Assist®ID. Using the identifier, the client will be able to make fast and secure payments.
3. Service of SMS-informing. This service allows you to learn about the success of a financial transaction.
4. Financial reporting. In the personal account, the user can view the history of transactions and receive a financial report for a specific period. You can receive statements simultaneously for all cards that have been linked to the ASSIST service.

Services for sellers

Shop owners who have connected their shopping sites to the ASSIST system can use a wide range of services related to accepting payments.
1. Acceptance of payment from bank cards DCI, VISA, JCB, MasterCard.
2. Acceptance of payments in cryptocurrency from different electronic payment systems within the same client interface (including for non-residents of the Russian Federation).
3. Monitoring of financial transactions carried out with payment cards.
Account holders can also:
• change the design of the virtual office;
• carry out work in 2 stages by authorizing a financial organization and a payment card;
• to carry out interactive WEB-POS-authentication;
• receive financial reports on transactions (statements will be sent to your account or e-mail);
• cancel and return payment transactions;
• implement customer incentive programs: bonuses, discounts, discount projects, etc.
• receive information on the credit card that was linked to the account, as well as on the exchange rates in the bank that issued the payment instrument.
Employees of the virtual store can get advice from an experienced specialist in the field of online marketing, take part in educational trainings and seminars. The topics of the classes can be very diverse:
• virtual trade;
• organizing your own business;
• work with electronic payments;
• work with various types of payment documents;
• security of e-accounts and financial transactions, etc.
 

Rates for virtual stores

To connect your organization to the ASSIST system, the store owner will have to pay about 3 thousand rubles (if the payment is accepted from payment cards). If the trading site accepts payments in cryptocurrency, then the connection is free. There is no subscription fee. For each transaction, a commission is charged in the range of 4 to 8%.
 

Countering fraudsters

ASSIST employees know that scammers can negatively affect the companys reputation, so programmers have developed several services to identify scammers and prevent their actions. Store owners can configure security settings in their accounts. 1. Filters. These are the simplest ways to counter intruders. Their work is based on monitoring transactions and comparing characteristics with black and white lists. For example, during the check it was noticed that one of the parameters is included in the "black list" category. In this case, the financial transaction is blocked by the system. If the parameter does not match the characteristics listed in the "white list", the operation is also blocked. In addition, the account holder can set limits on the amount of transactions or the number of transactions within a certain time frame. 2. Monitoring by means of mathematical modeling. This method of detecting swindlers is based on statistical monitoring and monitoring of neural connections. The peculiarity of this method is that the program "learns" in the process of work, adapting to new conditions. The system is capable of detecting not only the traditional methods of attackers, but also the methods that clever thieves have come up with recently. 3. Involvement of experts. No matter how perfect the security system is, we still cannot refuse the services of experienced specialists. If the account owner has suspicions that the e-wallet has become available to third parties, he can contact the ASSIST experts who will monitor, identify and prevent illegal actions. 




 

Canceling a financial transaction

There are times when a store cannot send an order to a customer. The reasons can be very different, for example, the product is out of stock. But the buyer has already transferred the money to the sellers account. In these cases, you can resort to canceling the authorization of the payment card or return the money to the payer. The procedure can be carried out in the user profile.
You can cancel authorization only if the payment transaction has not yet been generated. The user has the right to carry out the cancellation procedure in the first 24 hours after the authorization has been carried out. Companies that use a two-stage system of work or have the right to deferred confirmation of payments can cancel the authorization after the expiration of a day, but no later than the period established by the processing center. The cancellation procedure is carried out online.
If the financial transaction has already been formed, and the funds have been credited to the account of the trading site, then the money should be returned to the payer.
 

What is a two-stage system of work?

The two-stage work system allows you to check the buyers trustworthiness in 2 stages:
1. checking the solvency;
2. confirmation of payment.
Such a system is effective in cases where there is a threat that the client may refuse the provided service, for example, pre-ordering goods or booking tickets for airplanes, trains, etc.
At the first stage, the system checks if there is enough money in the clients account to pay for the service. If there are enough funds, then the required amount will be blocked.
The second stage is confirmation of payment. At this stage, the blocked amount is debited from the buyers account. Attention! The procedure must be carried out within the time period established by the settlement organization.
 

Electronic digital signature (EDS)

ASSIST payment service users can provide their finances with additional security. For this it is worth using an electronic digital signature. This is a unique tool that allows you to identify the data of the system participant and verify their authenticity. EDS is used to confirm payments and other financial transactions carried out through the ASSIST system.