buySAFE and TRUSTe Form Strategic Partnership, Announce Groundbreaking New
Trust and Safety Offering for Online Merchants
"TRUSTe
for Small Business" Combines Companies' Privacy, Merchant Performance
Certifications to Help Merchants Increase Shopper Confidence
ARLINGTON, VA and SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 20, 2007) – buySAFE, Inc. (www.buysafe.com), the leading trust and safety company for e-commerce transactions, and TRUSTe (www.truste.org),
the leading privacy certification and seal program, today announced
that they have partnered to create "TRUSTe for Small Business," a
first-of-its-kind program that combines buySAFE's merchant performance
certification process with TRUSTe's privacy certification process. The
new program allows merchants with monthly sales of $1 million or less
to signal compliance with the buySAFE and TRUSTe standards for trust
and privacy, thereby increasing shopper confidence and driving higher
conversion, sales and revenue.
To be eligible for the
TRUSTe for Small Business program, online merchants must pass the
buySAFE certification process and remain in good standing with buySAFE.
Approved merchants will be designated with the buySAFE Seal, which
certifies that the merchant is trustworthy and reliable, is continually
monitored, and that its customers' purchases can be fully guaranteed
with a bond from buySAFE and its surety partners Liberty Mutual,
Travelers, and ACE USA. Merchants in the program will also display the
TRUSTe for Small Business seal, indicating that they adhere to TRUSTe's
strict privacy principles and comply with the TRUSTe Watchdog dispute
resolution process.
"We are tremendously excited to join
forces with TRUSTe, a true pioneer in the areas of online privacy,
safety and security," said Jeff Grass, buySAFE CEO. "Just as buySAFE
creates confident shoppers by providing the strongest third-party
endorsement of a merchant's trustworthiness and reliability backed by a
bond guarantee, TRUSTe generates trust between merchants and shoppers
by verifying adherence to rigorous privacy standards. Together, these
efforts will increase shopper comfort, which benefits online shoppers,
merchants, and e-commerce as a whole."
"As the industry
leader in guaranteeing trustworthy, reliable online transactions,
buySAFE is a complement to TRUSTe's suite of offerings," said Fran
Maier, executive director and president of TRUSTe. "With the launch of
the TRUSTe for Small Business program, we've created an affordable,
comprehensive way for small and medium-sized merchants to let their
shoppers know that they adhere to the highest standards of privacy,
trust and merchant performance."
To qualify for buySAFE,
online merchants must pass the buySAFE certification process, which
ensures that they are financially sound, reliable, and committed to
delivering on their terms of sale. Merchants that use buySAFE
experience higher conversion rates, higher sales, and more frequent
repeat shoppers, and also earn additional revenue from any buySAFE bond
guarantees their customers purchase. buySAFE is completely free for
merchants to use on their websites. Merchants who would like to apply
should visit www.buysafe.com.
buySAFE
has built significant momentum in the e-commerce arena in recent
months, announcing the addition of several new customers including
leading home improvement etailer Home Décor Products, and DVD Planet,
part of Infinity Resources, the third-largest DVD retailer online.
Shopping cart providers MIVA Small Business Solutions, Zoovy, and
Cart32 recently integrated the buySAFE trust solution into their
products, and 3dCart and CRE Loaded have announced plans to do so
shortly.
About buySAFE
buySAFE,
Inc. is an expert at ensuring safe, reliable and virtually risk-free
online shopping. buySAFE and its surety partners – Liberty Mutual®,
Travelers®, and ACE® USA – certify online merchants to ensure they are
trustworthy and reliable, monitor them continuously, and stand behind
the certification by guaranteeing a shopper's purchase with a bond, up
to $25,000. buySAFE is the only company in the world that provides
online merchants with an explicit third-party endorsement of their
reliability and trustworthiness, backed by a bond guarantee.
buySAFE
has been proven to increase buyer confidence by providing certified
merchants with the buySAFE Seal for display on their website and by
enabling shoppers to guarantee their purchase with a bond. In so doing,
buySAFE also benefits merchants because shoppers are more likely to buy
when they have trust and confidence that the merchant will perform as
promised. With increased buyer confidence, buySAFE Merchants typically
enjoy higher website conversion, more repeat buyers and a better ROI on
all their marketing dollars. buySAFE has guaranteed more than 12
million online purchases with a surety bond. buySAFE is headquartered
in Arlington, Virginia. More information is available at www.buysafe.com.
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe helps consumers and businesses identify trustworthy online
organizations through its Web Privacy Seal, Email Privacy Seal and
Trusted Download Programs. An independent, nonprofit organization
celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007, TRUSTe certifies more than
2,000 Web sites, including the major internet portals and leading
brands such as AOL, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Intuit and eBay. TRUSTe resolves thousands of individual privacy disputes every year. To learn more about internet privacy visit www.truste.org.
