Using Credit Cards on the Internet

I received a comment on one of my previous posts regarding shopping with your credit card on line and the dangers associated with it. This writer then pointed us in the direction of a company with an interesting solution. It seems that this solution allows one to go to an ATM and receive a number (similar in structure to a credit card) that one could use on the Internet. This is of course an extremely clever mechanism to ensure that your card number is never used on the Internet and could combat fraud effectively. This is a solution obviously invented by a technologist (Not that there is anything wrong with this - I am a technologist). But it lacks the insight in how end-users would use this feature. Imagine a shopper at the point of buying something on the Internet, suddenly having to get to the closest ATM to get a number to enter into the website... won't work.

Of course one have seen many initiatives to combat Internet shopping fraud. These solutions have ranged from very ambitious initiatives (like Verified by Visa or SET-remember SET?) to clever schemes that would probably win limited (if any) support. Many utilise alternative numbers or some provide a feedback loop (either through powerful fraud protection logic) and others still guarantee secure transmission of card information etc.

The most obvious way to protect consumers is to utilise their mobile phone to achieve peace of mind to the card holder. We (at Fundamo) have implemented successful solutions to our clients (in production running thousands of transactions) where we harness the characteristics of the mobile to protect the card holder. We have done it in a number of ways ranging from SMS alerts when the card has been used to the ability to block the card from the phone. We have also implemented mechanisms where the card is "unlocked" for MOTO (card not present) transactions and can only be used in such instances if it has been unlocked. In this way we have increased the security of using your card on the Internet without changing the card or the Internet.