[ 5 July 2000 ] CommerceNet Singapore’s Internet Payment Series: Building Business Communities
June 5, 2000[ 8 June 2000 ] Online safety firm CaseTrust plans IPO by next year
June 8, 2000CaseTrust Limited will enter a strategic alliance with ePublicEye.com Far East of the United States to work together to promote safer online shopping on the Internet.
The two companies, which provide trust mark schemes for online shoppers, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 7 June 2000, setting out a framework for them to work together in Asia.
The scope of cooperation will extend from cross-linking of websites to CaseTrust and ePublicEye.com approved retail outlets being registered for each other’s merchant ratings.
- This cooperation can take place in ASEAN, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China and other countries in Asia that CaseTrust may expand to.
- CaseTrust and ePublicEye.com will participate jointly in public presentations on merchant rating.
- Both parties will see the joint effort as a strategic alliance effort in which e-commerce in Asia is made safer for consumers.
- They will cross-link websites
- CaseTrusted merchants will be registered for ePublicEye.com merchant rating
- Likewise, ePublicEye.com registered merchants will be referred to CaseTrust for consideration and possible application.
- ePublicEye.com in the United States and CaseTrust may consider cooperation on a global scale.
The two organisations provide a stamp of quality and reliability to merchants and an assurance to consumers.
CaseTrust and ePublicEye.com share similarities in their objectives and plans. Both have an interest in promoting safer on-line shopping through merchant rating schemes and in promoting good business practices through consumer awareness programmes. Both are keen to expand their operations regionally and both see their role as being complementary, with a long-term goal of establishing merchant and consumer recognition of their merchant rating systems.
About CaseTrust
CaseTrust is a trust mark scheme set up jointly by the Retail Promotion Centre, CommerceNet Singapore and Consumers Association of Singapore in August 1999. It aims to serve two purposes: provide guidance to industry members on agreed retailing standards and conduct and to assure consumers that retailers will observe their rights through these agreed standards.
The scheme, which successfully completed its initial pilot phase, has been well received by retailers and e-tailers. To date, more than 700 store-based and web-based merchants have been accredited under CaseTrust.
There are two aspects to the CaseTrust scheme. Web-Accreditation is designed for web retailers. It entails Internet sites having in place good business practices and additional assurance on transaction integrity via information security and procedures. Store-based Accreditation is designed for retail stores to ensure that there is compliance with a code of good business practice.
Web and Store retailers who wish to be accredited under CaseTrust have to pass the assessment criteria and agree to abide by a code of practice before they are admitted as CaseTrust members. They are also expected to make their trade practices known and transparent to consumers.
About ePublicEye.com
ePublicEye.com Far East is the Asia-Pacific subsidiary of US-based ePublic Intelligence. Founded in 1996 in the US, ePublic Intelligence is an industry pioneer. It provides online consumer satisfaction reports and it conducts real-time customer surveys. The service is global in scope, and it is available in five languages — Chinese, French, German, Spanish and English.
In displaying the ePublicEye “registered safer shopping” mark on their site, online merchants are making a tangible commitment to customer satisfaction. Consumers can view a merchant’s rating 24x7x365. Shoppers who buy from ePublicEye rated merchants can lodge their own satisfaction report and if they experience problems with their purchase, ePublicEye will serve as an intermediary with the merchant. The service is a win/win, online, adaptive system in which merchants are encouraged to provide a high level of customer service. Shoppers are able to readily identify merchants from whom they can safely shop. ePublicEye Far East feels that its merchant rating service can play a critical role in building a bridge between e-tailers and e-purchasers in Asia. In the process, it aims to further promote the development of reliable e-commerce in the region.
Issued on behalf of CaseTrust Ltd By Gavin Anderson & Company (Singapore)
For Further information, please contact:
Ms. TAN Puay Hoon
CaseTrust Ltd
Tel: 450 2115
Fax: 4586393
Or
Mr. Gerald De Cotta
Gavin Anderson & Company (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Tel: 339 9110
Fax: 339 9578