Hotel Technology Next Generation

NEW YORK -- Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced a new partnership with Merchant Link to offer hoteliers added security through tokenization and Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) for credit card swipes on the HMS Mobile Check in application. Merchant Link, a leader in providing security and support for payment acceptance in the industry, delivers tools with added security to manage transactions more securely in today's complex and changing payment landscape. Through this integration, Infor Hospitality Management System (HMS) customers are expected to have more confidence that their systems are protected and guest data is safe from potential security threats and data breaches.

Starting at the point of sale, the Merchant Link infrastructure was designed so that Infor HMS never sees or stores sensitive credit card information. Cardholder data is captured and replaced with tokens that safely live inside the Infor HMS system, CRM records, etc. In all subsequent communications, the credit card is referenced using the token. This helps ensure that the primary account number is never exposed in the system. By removing Cardholder data from the hotelier's system and storing it in a secure, hosted vault, the data is able to reside away from the business and from hackers. This should reduce the risk of a breach and directly address the third requirement in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, "Protect Stored Data".

"Almost every hotel relies on stored credit card information, and when managing transactions in today's complex and changing payment landscape, it's important to approach this process by layering encryption technology to protect cardholder information," said Laura Kirby-Meck, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing, Merchant Link. "We wanted to partner with Infor because one of their premier business objectives is to make the guest experience more satisfying for their customers, and adding a security component to their already successful property management system is key in removing the risk of potential stolen information."

ION^®-enabled Infor HMS provides enhanced property management functionality that enables hoteliers to serve guests more efficiently, with speed and agility. By adding this strong, easily integrated security component, the solution will deliver more tools to help hoteliers improve the guest experience, get more repeat business, and improve reporting.

"Infor remains committed to always evolving its HMS software as industry needs dictate new challenges," said Stewart Applbaum, senior vice president, Hospitality, Infor. "Partnering with Merchant Link to offer enhanced security to our customers was the right step in keeping our customers competitive as data breaches continue to increase."

About Merchant Link
Merchant Link is a leading provider of cloud-based payment gateway and data security solutions, removing the risk and hassle of payments for more than 300,000 hotel, restaurant and retail locations. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, we currently enable more than 4 billion transactions annually for some of the world's best-known merchants, providing connectivity to the major U.S. payment card processors. Our mission is to develop secure payment solutions that are flexible, customized and evolving to meet merchants' changing needs and allow them to focus on their core business without worrying about managing cardholder data. TransactionVault^®, our tokenization solution, and TransactionShield^®, our point-to-point encryption solution, mitigate the risk of a data compromise while lowering the cost and effort of PCI compliance. For more information, please visit www.merchantlink.com.

About Infor
Infor is fundamentally changing the way information is published and consumed in the enterprise, helping 70,000 customers in over 200 countries and territories improve operations, drive growth, and quickly adapt to changes in business demands. Infor offers deep industry-specific applications and suites, engineered for speed, and with an innovative user experience design that is simple, transparent, and elegant. Infor provides flexible deployment options that give customers a choice to run their businesses in the cloud, on-premises, or both. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.

Infor customers include:

19 of the top 20 aerospace companies
12 of the top 13 high tech companies
10 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies
21 of the 25 largest US health delivery networks
16 of the 20 largest US cities
84 of the top 100 automotive suppliers
31 of the top 50 industrial distributors
5 of the top 9 brewers