Bharti BT Internet chief executive officer N Arjun and Venture Infotek chairman Dhruv Khaitan signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday. As per the MoU, Venture Infotek will facilitate secure online payment transactions for anything bought through mantraonline.

The facility is the first in a series of steps being taken towards effective e-commerce by the internet service providers in the country. Most of the credit card transactions on the Net presently take place with very little networking between the banks and merchants in the country.

With this tie-up, a user of mantraonline will have the facility of getting his Visa or Mastercard transaction accepted online within 30 seconds, the company claimed in a statement here. However, in the beginning the service will be available only for online renewal of internet accounts for current members of mantraonline. The company has tied up with brands like Nokia, Alcatel, VIP and Airtel for services and products in the future."The implication of a secure method of transaction like this on the future of e-commerce in India is phenomenal. The solution offered by Venture Infotek will address the risk of putting the card number on the Net and the security instead will be in the hands of a reputed group which is also the market leader in this business," said Arjun.