Visa begins testing new card to reduce online credit card fraud

12 April 2012

A credit card with a built in screen and keypad could radically reduce online shopping fraud, Visa has claimed.

The credit card firm today began testing the card with 500 Londoners.

When shopping online, customers enter their pin number into the card, which generates and displays a unique code each time it is used.

This must then be entered into the website, and is checked by the bank's servers to prove the card and pin number are correct.

Visa hopes the new card could reduce card fraud online.

Although chip and pin technology has reduced till fraud, online fraud, known in the industry as card-not-present or CNP fraud, is growing and now makes up more than 50% of all credit card fraud.

According to figures from the Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), CNP fraud accounted for more than £328.4 million in 2008, a rise of 13% from the previous year.

Visa says it could be made available by high street banks by the end of the year.

"I see this as a very consumer focused product and any Visa bank could add it to their commercial cards and make it available, assuming it passes muster," said Sandra Alzetta, head of innovation at Visa.

"The card needs to be globally compatible: that means embossed characters for mechanical swipes, a magnetic strip for systems that require a signature, the fixed three digit security code and now the unique four figure code. By embedding a battery, PIN pad and screen in a payment card, we believe we are offering the most innovative card product in the marketplace"

The new card can also generate codes to allow users to access corporate computer networks, and is being trialled by Deloitte employees

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