"Early Warning" Service Gives Cardholders Extra Confidence and
Security
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 2008--Visa (NYSE:V), the
global leader in payments, and eight leading North American financial
institutions - PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, and Wells
Fargo in the United States, and Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank
Financial Group, and Vancity in Canada - have agreed to initiate a
pilot program with up to a total of 2,000 participants to test the
delivery of real-time notification alerts on Visa accounts.
The program, which is being conducted in cooperation with some of
the largest North American issuers, is designed to enhance the
consumer payment experience by alerting cardholders in real-time or
near real-time of transaction activity on their Visa account -
typically within seconds rather than hours or days. Participants will
receive notification alerts from Visa through email or Short Message
Service (SMS) delivered directly to their mobile devices.
Based on Visa's state-of-the-art transaction authorization system,
and its ability to analyze and conduct risk score transactions
"in-flight," the service allows Visa cardholders to set thresholds
that will trigger a transaction alert. Alert types that Visa
cardholders may choose in the pilot include:
-- cash withdrawal from an ATM machine;
-- a transaction initiated cross border;
-- an Internet or telephone transaction and
-- a transaction that exceeds an amount that has been chosen by
the cardholder.
Through the alert received via email or SMS text, cardholders can
verify the transaction details, and if the transaction appears to be
irregular, can immediately contact their bank to help stop further
transactions on the card. The service is designed to help cardholders
keep closer track of their transactions and spending levels as they go
about their daily routine. According to a recent Javelin Strategy &
Research report, consumers view timely alerts as a valuable resource
to help detect fraud.
"Information is power, especially when delivered in a timely
manner," said Elizabeth Buse, Global Head of Product at Visa Inc.
"Visa already delivers real-time transaction risk scores to financial
institutions, and we are now empowering cardholders in this pilot with
real-time transaction alerts. Participating Visa cardholders can
typically receive alerts before they walk out of the store, rather
than hours or even days later."
Visa's Mobile Platform
Visa began testing mobile notifications in 2007, beginning with an
internal employee pilot. Mobile alerts are part of a suite of mobile
services that are supported by the Visa Mobile Platform, which was
created to help financial institutions tap into mobile technology to
deliver enhanced products and services. This effort comes as consumers
globally are relying on their mobile phones to do far more than just
handle calls. A recent Pew Research Centre report found that more than
80 percent of consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 use their mobile
devices to engage in activities such as sending text messages, taking
pictures and accessing the Internet.
Worldwide, Visa's Mobile Platform is supporting mobile trials of:
-- mobile payments made both at the point of sale (using Visa
payWave technology) and away from it by permitting remote
payments via text message or the Internet;
-- value-added services, which in addition to account
notification can include the delivery of offers, coupons and
rewards directly to a consumer's mobile device;
-- mobile acceptance, enabling mobile devices to accept Visa
payments, thus extending the flexibility of merchants and
-- money transfer, which allows cardholders to use their mobile
device to electronically transfer money to family and friends
around the world directly from their Visa accounts.
Visa has announced mobile trials and commercial rollouts in
Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
About Visa Inc.: Visa Inc. operates the world's largest retail
electronic payments network providing processing services and payment
product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and
commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron,
Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around
the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM
networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170
countries. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com
CONTACT: Visa Inc.
Sandra Chu, 415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com
SOURCE: Visa Inc.