A new credit card payment system has been developed to tackle the spiralling problem of card-not-present (CNP) fraud.
Fuel card operator Retail Decisions (ReD), direct debit firm Voca and mobile phone pre-pay provider Mi-Pay have invested funds into Digital Payments, a service designed to enable merchants to manage consumer payments through the internet, digital TV and mobile phones.
The vendors claimed the Pay Pal-style system is secure because it requires customers to register their details online only once. They then use an identification moniker, reducing the number of times they have to provide banking information.
Carl Clump, chief executive of ReD, said: "Merchants will see an uplift in revenue of as much as six per cent. This is an alternative to the bullish approach to card security taken by some credit card firms."
In the first two months of this year anti-fraud firm Early Warning discovered that the arrival of chip-and-PIN technology was shifting general credit card fraud further into the CNP camp (CRN, 14 March).
Eddie Pacey, director of credit at Bell Microproducts Europe, said, VARs can take a charge when stolen credit cards are used.
"I welcome any system that provides cast-iron security, but if it becomes a frequently used system then someone is bound to hack it in the end," he said. However, he stressed that cardholders must also take responsibility. "CNP fraud occurs because individuals don't take measures to keep their details secure at home.
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