Northstar Announces Partnership with OpenEdge

Northstar Announces Partnership with OpenEdge

Northstar Announces Partnership with OpenEdge

Northstar Announces Partnership with OpenEdge: Adds New Payment Features and Advanced Security for Private Clubs

Atlanta, February 24, 2017 - Northstar, the leading provider of club management software for private clubs, announces a partnership with OpenEdge, the technology innovation division of Global Payments. The payments technology integrated into Northstar includes advanced security features and adds new functionality to make accepting payments easier for the club and more convenient for club members.

New features and payment models from OpenEdge and now seamlessly integrated into Northstar software include:

EMV Acceptance: EMV is a fraud-reduction technology protecting card issuers, merchants and consumers from losses due to the use of counterfeit and stolen payment cards at the point-of-sale. EMV smart cards are embedded with a chip that interacts with a point-of-sale device, ensuring the card is authentic and belongs to the user. This chip technology is virtually impossible to duplicate.

Encryption/Tokenization: OpenEdge's proprietary encryption is designed to render cardholder data unreadable, encrypted at the device. Club staff are unable to view card numbers after the swipe, dip or hand-key. Cardholder data is then replaced by digital "tokens" - unreadable by potential cyber-criminals. The sensitive data is stored in the secure OpenEdge vault rather than in the business environment.

ACH: With ACH (or eCheck) payments, funds are drafted from the member's checking account. ACH payments are electronic payments made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.

Decline Minimizer and Recurring Payments: Decline Minimizer from OpenEdge is an automated card updating service. Because clubs rely on repeat and recurring transactions from members, there is a constant concern with declined transactions due to lost, expired and outdated cards, requiring time-consuming efforts to track down the cardholder to maintain cash flow. With Decline Minimizer, a club simply requests the service and OpenEdge handles the rest. Decline Minimizer automatically updates expired and outdated card information stored in a cloud-based data vault daily. The process is virtually invisible to the clubs, yet they'll notice the impact Decline Minimizer has on the business - fewer card declines and more approvals.

Northstar CEO, Prasad Suryadevara states, "Private clubs have a very specific business model. The new payment features offered through the OpenEdge partnership will help our customers run their businesses better while improving security and ease-of-use to their members

"OpenEdge has a great deal of experience developing payment solutions for the membership space," adds Sid Singh, Global Payments' President of Integrated Solutions & Vertical Markets. "The features Northstar is integrating into their software - encryption, token-based security, EMV chip cards, recurring payments and more - will help keep their club customers competitive as payment habits and technologies change. We're delighted to partner with Northstar."

About OpenEdge
OpenEdge helps software developers and businesses succeed by delivering secure and personalized payment solutions. As the integrated payments division of Global Payments, OpenEdge is driving innovation - adapting, scaling, and simplifying how payments are processed, across platforms and points-of-interaction, in an increasingly complex landscape. OpenEdge serves more than 2,000 technology partners across 60 industry verticals throughout the United States and Canada. Learn more at www.openedgepay.com.

About Northstar
Northstar is the leading vendor of Club Management Software for Private Clubs. Northstar is installed in over 500 clubs worldwide and is the only club management software that offers a complete single solution that is built on one database. The Northstar Suite comprises of the revolutionary ClubView, the innovative ClubNow Mobile App, the beautifully designed websites from NS Connect and the award winning NS Office that has 26 modules to cover all club requirements. The Northstar mission is to provide a superior product that helps create the best member experience. To this end, the employees of Northstar are working diligently to improve the software, better the customer service and to ensure that the users of Northstar have a world class experience. Learn more at www.globalnorthstar.com.