Bluefin Payment Systems this past week announced a new partnership with EchoSat Inc., a provider of payments security and redundancy for retail outlets in many vertical markets. EchoStat also provides managed network and firewall services to protect point-of-sale systems from security breaches.

Bluefin said in a press release that the partnership is intended to further enhance data security for EchoSat clients through the implementation of Bluefin's Decryptx PCI-validated point-to-point encryption service, which will provide additional protection by encrypting payment data directly at the point of interface.

EchoSat serves a wide variety of clients, including convenience stores, gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, grocery stores and large retailers. Current clients include many well-known brands whose franchisees blanket the U.S. retail market, according to the announcement.

Through the partnership, EchoSat clients will have access to PCI-validated P2PE on the EchoSat SPG and PaySafe SPG platforms, with Bluefin providing the devices, key injection, shipping and chain of custody for EchoSat clients.

"As the FBI and other agencies warn that criminals are developing new strains of point-of-sale malware which can defeat standard security precautions, it is more important than ever that companies like EchoSat provide their clients the best data security available," said John M. Perry, CEO of Bluefin. "There is an increasing awareness that consumer cardholder data will never be fully secure without PCI-validated P2PE. We congratulate EchoSat on being on the cutting edge of payment card security, and are delighted that they have chosen Bluefin and Decryptx as a means for their clients to secure cardholder data and reduce PCI scope."