You are here: silicon.com > Financial Services > News

Handheld credit card readers to cut fraud

A trial of two-factors...

Tags: online payments, card fraud, lloyds tsb, apacs

By Tim Ferguson

Published: 15 February 2007 16:10 GMT

A new payments system aimed at reducing 'card not present' fraud is to be trialled by UK payments association Apacs.

Apacs has developed the system, which uses a handheld card reader, from the global standard created by card companies MasterCard and Visa. It is designed for online and telephone transactions which are potentially vulnerable to fraud because they can be carried out with card details only - and do not require a PIN or signature.

To make a purchase with the system, customers first insert their card into a small handheld reader and enter their pin number. This generates an eight digit number - valid for one transaction - which customers enter online or give to a phone operator to secure the payment.

An Apacs spokesman said the organisation was working towards a trial later in the year and discussions about which banks will be taking part are ongoing.

Postcards from the bleeding edge…

Read the latest missive from tech guru and silicon.com columnist, Peter Cochrane, as he blogs from around the world.

He said: "[The card reader system] will definitely help in the battle against card not present fraud."

Several UK banks have already trialled the technology. A Barclaycard spokesman said: "Barclaycard has tested [the system] and we were encouraged by the initial results and we're in a period of further testing."

He added the system will also be rolled out to select customers later in the year.

Lloyds-TSB has been testing a number-generating key fob to make transactions more secure but is also looking at the card reader system.

A Lloyds-TSB spokesman said: "We'll be moving in that direction."

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

silicon.com Financial Services
Get the latest financial services news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the FS newsletter today!


  • Jobs
Shift Supervisor

Desirable: Service management background People management experience Good interpersonal skills ...

Helpdesk Team Leader

Helpdesk Team Leader / IT Support Team Leader with EFT / Banking / Electronic Funds Transfer / Credit Card / Payments Support experience. Windows ...

Risk Manager (fraud/operational) - UK (permanent)

We are currently looking for a Risk Manager with fraud and operational experience for our client within the credit card payments industry. Risk ...

Agenda Setters 2008
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.




Quick Sitemap Links: