Bunt Software and Merchant Link's SMPLink™ Gains Momentum in Marketplace

SILVER SPRING, Md., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In July 2010, Merchant Link and Bunt Software announced the launch of a next generation point-of-sale payment interface called SMPLink™, the most viable and cost-effective solution to extend the life of the Panasonic System Manager Pro (SMP), which Panasonic is no longer supporting.  The new solution from Bunt Software and Merchant Link has already gained significant traction with 380 licenses sold to date, as well as 11 Panasonic dealers now selling the solution.

When Panasonic ended its support for SMP, it left approximately 3,500 merchants and Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) needing to find an alternative credit interface at the point of sale (POS), potentially leading to an unnecessary and expensive investment in a new POS.  In addition, these merchants fell out of compliance with PCI as SMP is no longer certified to the current PCI rules.

"We are seeing a tremendously positive response from both retailers and QSR customers as well as from Panasonic dealers and resellers when it comes to SMPLink," said Don Bunt, Software Architect, Bunt Software.  "SMPLink is clearly meeting a market need and we expect this momentum to continue.  And since SMP is no longer PCI compliant, we wanted to offer a solution to meet this vital need."

SMPLink is also a viable solution for protecting credit card data and reducing PCI compliance efforts – a critical feature that is not available with SMP.  SMPLink has been validated under the PA-DSS version 1.2 rules.  A report on validation was completed and has been submitted to the PCI Council for listing on their website.   Merchants currently using SMP can easily install SMPLink on their Panasonic POS systems and enjoy the benefits of TransactionVault®, Merchant Link's tokenization technology that removes credit card data from the POS and back office systems, lowering the risk of data breaches and reducing the scope of a PCI audit.

"As security continues to be a major concern for restaurateurs, SMPLink provides a cost-effective solution extending the life of SMP for potentially many years, but more importantly the solution protects cardholder data and dramatically reduces the risk of a costly data breach," said Dan Lane, CTO, Merchant Link. "By upgrading to SMPLink, merchants can continue experiencing the benefits of SMP, with an added tokenization solution that effectively addresses the PCI requirement to 'protect stored data.'"    

For more information on SMPLink, please visit Bunt Software at www.BuntSoft.com.

About Bunt Software

Founded in 1997, Bunt Software is a software company specializing in commercial software development.  Bunt Software has decades of experience in development of point of sale software.  Software Architect, Don Bunt, created the software architecture, design and participated in the development of System Manager Pro software on contract for Panasonic.  Further information is available at www.BuntSoft.com.

About Merchant Link

Merchant Link is a leading payments gateway company, providing PCI compliance, secure solutions, data transport services and comprehensive technology to merchants, software providers and credit card processors.  Merchant Link currently supports more than 150,000 hotels, restaurants, ballparks, and other venues, and maintains connectivity to the major US payment card processors.  Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Silver Spring, MD., Merchant Link handles more than 3 billion transactions for some of the world's best-known merchants.  Merchant Link's tokenization solution, TransactionVault®, removes the risk of data compromises and reduces a merchant's efforts to attain and maintain PCI compliance.

Further information is available at www.merchantlink.com.

SOURCE Merchant Link