MasterCard has launched a new anti-fraud service that will warn banking consumers of suspicious activity on their credit card via a text message.
MasterCard will work with its fraud detection device Aristion and mobile messaging developer mBlox to speed up the response to fraud detection. Banks will be able to inform customers of any suspect transactions by asking for confirmation, using SMS, that the activity is genuine, then blocking the card within minutes.
The system can integrate with banks’ existing fraud detection platforms and enable them to create rules to generate an SMS message.
MasterCard believes its new initiative will offer greater protection and assurance to customers. The company expects to increase card fraud detection rates to 90% while reducing banks’ operational costs by 20-30%.
It is also hoped that MasterCard’s SMS service will offer a response to the rise in card fraud which involves using stolen card details to make purchases by phone or over the internet.
MasterCard anticipates that it will first promote the new technology to banks with the hope of offering it to consumers and rival payment operators in the coming months.
The platform is being deployed initially in Europe where mobile phone sales have increased, but has officially been launched globally with intentions of moving the service to Asia-Pacific, North America and other regions throughout the year.