The AR²T Acquirer Risk model, created by company founder Chris Mark, offers acquirers the possibility to reveal and assess large groups of merchants quickly and accurately, reflecting not only their likelihood of compromise, but the potential impact to the acquirer should a compromise occur. The Aegenis Group filed for a patent on its proprietary methodology for assessing merchant risk within an acquirer's portfolio. Compared to the other risk tools that exist in the payments industry, the AR² methodology arms acquiring banks with the utility that they need to take proactive, measurable steps to manage compromise risk.

    Mark said: "In our industry, there is a tendency to equate compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard with proactive risk management. The two are not the same and this frame of reference can be quite costly because validation of compliance is not required for level 4 merchants managing their compliance offers unique difficulties and risks. Leveraging our experience and expertise in data security and compliance in the electronic payment industry, The Aegenis Group was able to create a tool that allows acquirers to get a very real picture of their exposure in the event of a data compromise in one of their merchants."

    The AR² Methodology brings a departure from the current set of risk management tools that exist in the electronic payments industry. Most risk management tools focus on absolute risk and are industry specific, assigning a certain level of risk to merchants in certain verticals. AR² not only offers acquirers the possibility to use a more realistic view into the overall risk of their merchant portfolio, but it also measures and tracks relative risk. The AR² Methodology is an extremely flexible utlity that can be integrated into existing platforms or as a stand-alone product.

    The AR² Methodology calculates variety of factors about each merchant in a given portfolio -- their length of time in business, their transaction volume and similar facts -- and using patent-pending algorithms can very accurately figure out the financial impact of a information breach within a specific merchant or group of merchants. Using this knowledge, the acquirer can then form a strategy for concentrating their efforts on real risk reduction.

    The organization specializes in strategic consulting, market development assistance for companies in and around the payment card industry and training. Among the products and services offered by The Aegenis Group are merchant risk profiling, PCI specific training, market development and sales support. The Aegenis Group also offers a product designed to help companies reveal sensitive or prohibited information that may be stored in their environment. For more information visit www.aegenis.com.