Collaboration is Key to Success in War Against Fraud

Oct 17, 05 | 7:52 am

Region’s law enforcement agencies and banks share their views at Visa Asia Pacific Conference

A survey of bank and law enforcement officials from across 18 markets in Asia Pacific found that an overwhelming 82 percent of the respondents attribute the historically low levels of card fraud to collaboration among member banks, law enforcement agencies, merchants, regulators, cardholders and payment card companies.

Visa Asia Pacific and its member banks have worked closely with the industry, regulators and police to drive down card fraud levels in the region to their historical lowest. Card fraud has dropped to three cents for every US$100 spent in Asia Pacific, compared with seven cents globally.

Among the other attributes for the successes in the fight against fraud were technology solutions, stronger legislation and increasing public awareness.

“Given the importance of collaboration in ensuring security in the payment system, all participants must take their roles seriously. If for instance, merchants or processors do not protect cardholder data according to industry standards, their defences are lowered; they become easy targets, and when attacked, stand to lose their customers trust in their business. We need to stay vigilant and step up our collective efforts,” said Peter Maher, Visa Asia Pacific’s general manager for risk management.

The survey was conducted at the recent Visa Asia Pacific Risk Management Conference in Singapore, which focused on creating a more secure transactional environment and ensuring the security of cardholders. The survey identified what the law enforcement and bank officials thought were the key concerns and the best solutions in risk management.

Highlights of the survey results include:

• 82 percent of the respondents that collaborative efforts have been effective in the fight against fraud. These respondents were mainly from the markets which had high awareness of EMV chip: Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia1.

• A mature EMV chip card environment was cited as the best solution for counterfeit challenges.

• Counterfeit fraud, account information/data theft and reputation of an organization were listed as their top three security concerns.

When asked how they could play a stronger role in ensuring consumer confidence by driving down fraud, the respondents listed education and more collaborative effort. One law enforcement official said, “The Visa Asia Pacific Risk Management Conference is exemplary of the initiatives that are needed. It not only facilitates the sharing of information but also intensifies cooperation and encourages key stakeholders to work collaboratively in the war against fraud.”

The two-day conference addressed topics on the future of payment, protection of cardholder data, EMV migration, card crime investigation and merchant best practices.

Visa International

Visa is the world's leading payment brand generating more than US$3 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce, the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com .

Visa Asia Pacific

In Asia Pacific, Visa has a greater market share than all other payment card brands combined with 62 percent of all card purchases at the point of sale being made using Visa cards. There are currently 256 million Visa-branded cards in the region. For the 12 months ended June 2005, US$481 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Asia Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific's internet address is www.visa-asia.com .

For further information, please contact:

Venture Liang Mary Devereux

Director, Corporate Relations Burson-Marsteller Hong Kong

Visa International Asia Pacific Tel: 852-2963 6772 mary_devereux@hk.bm.com

Tel: 65- 6437 5545 vliang@visa.com