Pitney Bowes gains two tech allies for Volly digital mail

Pitney Bowes has struck two deals to work with partners to provide bill payment and ensure the security of its forthcoming Volly digital mailbox service. The company’s Volly unit will make use of the DataSecure system from Baltimore-based data protection specialists SafeNet, Inc., to allow customers to identify and validate the source of their digital mail.

And, Missouri-based Jack Henry & Associates, via its ProfitStars division, will provide a one-click bill payment system for the Volly digital mail service.

Volly is set to have its consumer launch in the United States in the second half of 2012, providing a digital mail system that includes document archiving and bill payment capabilities.

When it goes live, it will rival existing players in the digital postal mail space including Zumbox and Manilla.

Security

Pitney Bowes is looking to build customer confidence in the platform through SafeNet’s technology, which it said will encrypt and secure millions of transactions.

Consumers will be able to securely manage and store their financial statements and bills through any web connection in the cloud-based Volly, the companies said.

The company’s chief strategy officer, Tsion Gonen, said cloud computing can cause a “breakdown” in traditional information controls.

“By leveraging SafeNet’s security infrastructure, Pitney Bowes has been able to secure the digital mailbox by providing end-to-end encryption and authentication,” he said.

Bill pay

In a separate agreement, Pitney Bowes said Volly will make use of ProfitStars system to allow consumers an easy, one-click payment system when paying bills through Volly.

Jack Henry & Associates specialises in information processing for community banks in the US, and its technology will allow consumers to pay bills directly through Volly, authorising payments from bank cards or credit cards.

Pitney Bowes said the partnership was “critically important”, with the easy payment key to accelerating consumer adoption of Volly after launch.

Chuck Cordray, the Volly president, said online bill payment was now an everyday fact of life for tens of millions of people in the US.

“Integrating this feature into the Volly service right up front will make it an appealing alternative to the current, fragmented process most people use to receive, store, and pay their bills,” he said.

Earlier this year Pitney Bowes agreed a partnership with US software giant Adobe to provide its technology to support aspects of Volly like analytics systems.

Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes has attracted 40 large mailers, representing more than 5,000 companies and brands, to use the Volly service to reach consumers once it launches later this year.