Visa will launch its Verified by Visa online transaction processing system in the UK on 1 April, with the claim that it will significantly reduce levels of online fraud.

Using its 3D Secure technology, online purchasers will have to enter a password as well as their card details when conducting a transaction on a site that has signed up to the Visa scheme.

In addition, retailers who adopt Verified by Visa will no longer be liable for any 'card not present' chargebacks, regardless of whether the cardholder has used Verified by Visa or not.

"Around 50 per cent of all chargebacks are due to fraud," explained Lorraine Evans, head of marketing and policy development at Virtual Visa, Visa's ecommerce arm.

"This is going to raise the bar for fraudsters because to be able to do a transaction, they'll have to have the password as well," she said.

Evans predicts that instances of chargebacks will decrease by 80 per cent.

The shifting of liability from the merchant to the card issuer will prove appealing to organisations looking to get involved with ecommerce, and consumer confidence will increase with the assurance of increased security.

Research conducted by Visa found that 84 per cent of people who do not yet shop on the internet said they were more likely to do so if the Verified for Visa technology was in place.

The scheme was launched some time ago in the US and is so far proving a hit, with merchants such as Dell and Wal-Mart using the 3D Secure technology. Four in five of those organisations that have adopted the technology, have been banks.

Evans is confident of the response the scheme will receive in the UK and will target the 6,000-odd merchants operating in the country.