December 12, 2011 - Mumbai, India.

Avenues India has become the first Indian company to achieve the new stringent Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards Version 2.0 certification for its internationally recognized solutions like CCAvenue.com -South Asia's largest payment gateway solution for multicurrency  processing,  CCAvenue PhonePay – India’s most advanced Interactive Voice Response System for payment collection on phone, ResAvenue-South Asia’s largest  online reservation and payment Gateway solution for the hospitality industry and EventAvenue-India’s biggest online registration and payment collection solution for the Events industry. This is keeping with its past track record becoming the first Indian company in South Asia to achieve the PCI DSS 1.1 Standards of Compliance in April 2007. The new PCI DSS 2.0 certification reinforces the practice of Avenues to provide secure and globally compliant ecommerce solutions to businesses.

Avenues India was awarded the PCI-DSS version 2.0 certificate in a ceremony presided by Mr. Neil Fernandez, Country Risk Head India and South Asia- VISA and attended by Nitin Bhatnagar, Global Head - Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Alliances, SISA Information Security Pvt. Ltd and the Avenues Management including Vishwas Patel, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Avenues;  Vivek Nayak, Chief Operating Officer,Avenues; Ankit Patel, Chief Technology Officer, Avenues; Anupama Salvi, Director-New Business Development, Avenues and Smita Shetkar, Chief Risk Officer, Avenues.

Mr. Neil Fernandez said, “It is a proud moment to witness Avenues becoming the first Indian Company to successfully complete the new stringent PCI-DSS certification audit on PCI-DSS version 2.0."

Mr.Vishwas Patel, Founder - CEO of Avenues said, “We have always strived to push the boundaries of the possible to provide our merchants with the best possible security. Not only does this help us deliver globally competitive level of services but we can also bring about meaningful value additions to our merchants. Achieving the PCI Standards 2.0 is just another example of our persistence towards our goals and focus on security in online transactions.

Mr. Neil Fernandez Country Risk Head India and South Asia- VISA presenting the Avenues Management Team the PCI-DSS version 2.0 Certificate Left to Right: Smita Shetkar - Chief Risk Officer, Avenues; Ankit Patel, Chief Technology Officer, Avenues; Neil Fernandez, Country Risk Head India and South Asia- VISA; Vishwas Patel, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Avenues; Nitin Bhatnagar, Global Head - Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Alliances, SISA Information Security Pvt. Ltd.; Anupama Salvi, Director-New Business Development, Avenues; Vivek Nayak, Chief Operating Officer, Avenues.

PCI DSS 2.0
PCI stands for Payment Card Industry which is comprised of MasterCard, Visa, JCB, AMEX, and Discover. DSS stands for Data Security Standard which is a merger of individual data security recommendations that each of the five constituents had in place prior to standardization. It is a worldwide information security standard assembled by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). It is a set of requirements for enhancing data security. PCI DSS 2.0 incorporates a stronger emphasis on scoping sensitive data and a more risk-based approach for assessing vulnerabilities. It provides more clarity, flexibility and stability.

About PCI Security Standards Council:
In September of 2006, the five leading payment brands formed an independent Council to manage the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard. American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International saw the need to secure payment account data in a globally consistent manner. The new council worked to develop a system that would be more accessible and efficient. As a result, the ongoing monitoring and development will benefit more than one billion payment card users.

The Goals of PCI Standards:

• Develop and maintain a global, industry-wide technical data security standard for the protection of accountholder account information;
• Reduce costs and lead times for Data Security Standard implementation and compliance by establishing common technical standards and audit procedures for use by all payment brands
• Provide a list of globally available, qualified security solution providers via its Web site to help the industry achieve compliance;
• Lead training, education, and a streamlined process for certifying Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) and Approved Scanning Vendors (ASVs), providing a single source of approval recognized by all five founding members; and
• Provide a transparent forum in which all stakeholders can provide input into the ongoing development, enhancement and dissemination of data security standards.

About Avenues
Avenues is a profitable, debt-free company and currently services thousands of eMerchants worldwide through its solutions www.CCAvenue.com, www.ResAvenue.com, www.EventAvenue.com, www.HotelsAvenue.com, www.MembersAvenue.com, www.TrustAvenue.com. It is the largest integrated ecommerce solutions provider in South Asia. The Avenues support and development center is based in Mumbai, India. The total strength of the Avenues team is currently 150 personnel, spanning across all disciplines. For more information, log onto: www.Avenues.info