Fraud levels on Visa cards continue to fall as consumers increasingly choose to pay by card

Annual figures released by Financial Fraud UK and the UK Cards Association show that for the third year in a row, card fraud losses continue to decline and fraud levels are at their lowest since 2000. Visa Europe’s fraud to sales ratio is even lower than the industry average: for every hundred pounds spent on a Visa card in the UK, less than five pence is lost to fraud.

Peter Bayley, Senior Vice President, Fraud Management, Visa Europe, says: "Today’s official figures are great news for consumers who can be assured that paying by card is safer than ever. With one in every three pounds in the UK now spent on a Visa card, Visa Europe is building upon our anti-fraud expertise as we push forward and shape the future of payments. We are developing advances in technology that will make payments easier and more convenient through contactless and mobile payments, while still maintaining the high standards of security that consumers expect.
“Consumers have been changing the ways in which they choose to pay; as they have done so, we have responded by implementing new layers of security– such as Verified by Visa (VbV) – to ensure that we stay one step ahead of the fraudsters. The future of payment technology is really exciting and our challenge is to make sure card users feel as safe as possible whichever way they choose to pay.
“Since the UK fully transitioned to Chip and PIN six years ago, we’ve seen fraud rates plummet and ongoing investment in new security technology by the banking industry really pay off. Overall fraud losses on UK Visa cards were down 2% in the year ending September 2011, while counterfeit fraud was down by a massive 31%. These data show how Visa Europe’s active commitment to safe, secure, and convenient card payments is continuing to pay dividends for both consumers and retailers.
“Fraud cases involving Visa cards across the whole European region continue to fall and the fraud to sales ratio is now just 0.04%.”

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