A SCHEME designed to safeguard customers who do business over the Internet has been backed with funding of up to £7.5m, writes Maggie Hartford.

Clicksure, based at the Oxford Innovation Centre at Mill Street, Osney, runs a quality standards scheme for e-commerce.

To display the Clicksure mark, Web traders must be assessed to ensure that customers' transactions are secure and back office systems are good enough to offer a reliable service.

The system was set up to address fears that fraudsters could use credit card numbers given over the Internet, or that private details could be used by unscrupulous third parties.

The funding is led by international private equity firm Apax Partners and Zouk ventures, a new specialist e-commerce fund focused on the emerging European e-com- merce market.

Paul Fitzsimons, of Apax Partners, said: "The Clicksure team has drawn upon its collective 30 years' experience of the global certification industry to develop a quality standard and certification product for e-commerce companies.

"Recent studies have pointed to a lack of buyer trust and confidence as a major impediment to the potential explosive growth of Internet commerce.

"The successful global development of the clicksure certification standard will be a major step forward in the removal of this impediment."

Paul Fitzsimons and Matthias Calice of Apax Partners join the board of Clicksure.

Clicksure managing director Christopher Upton said: "Apax Partners and Zouk ventures fund a select number of Internet businesses each year. Since the launch of the clicksure Standard, we have received tremendous support and interest from all areas of the Internet community.

"Self-regulation in the world of e-commerce is recognised as the only sensible way forward. We have adapted tried and tested traditional certification methods to meet the needs of the Web."

Samer Salty, chief executive of Zouk, said: "Clicksure is establishing a global standard that is in a unique position in the e-business marketplace."

Story date: Friday 18 February

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