Israeli e-payment security company Cyota announced today that it had signed a new distribution partnership with Intelligent Wave Inc.(IWI) of Japan. The deal is estimated to be worth $10 million over the next three years.

Cyota says IWI dominates the Japanese market in the software development and integration of credit card authorization systems, with more than a 70% share in that market.

The company said the agreement would allow it to quickly penetrate the Japanese market, using IWI’s market position. The first products to be jointly marketed are Cyota’s Verified by Visa product - Cyota SecureVbV and the Cyota SecureSuite platform. Triangle Technologies, a business development advisory firm for non-Japanese firms in the Japanese market, played a key role in negotiating and closing the partnership agreement, Cyota added.

Verified by Visa works by asking customers to select security features including a login ID, a personal message and a password. These features are then used to complete online purchase transactions.

Cyota president and CEO Naftali Bennett said, “IWI is well regarded as the leading credit card software services vendor in Japan, and we have been impressed with their technical leadership and market dominance. SecureSuite is a perfect fit for IWI’s customers and representatives and we are pleased to be working with such a well regarded firm.”

Triangle Technologies vice president Yoshinori Oikawa said, “The Japanese Internet commerce market has been growing rapidly, but one of the inhibitors has been the lack of security with which consumers can make online payments. Cyota’s market position in payment security is viewed very positively by Japanese credit card issuers, and we believe that it will help stimulate the further growth of e-commerce.”

IWI chairman Kazuhiko Adachi said, “IWI focuses on partnerships with leading technology companies and we believe Cyota completes our product offerings for our leading customers.”

Cyota announced last month that First USA, the largest issuer of Visa credit cards in the world, had selected its Verified by Visa service in a deal valued at several millions of dollars. The payment security service has also been selected by Bank of America, the third largest bank in the US.

Cyota, founded in 1999, is a privately held company that develops online security, payment and transaction products. It is headquartered in New York, with offices worldwide. The company has an R&D center in Herzliya.

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