Credit and debit card fraud is the number one fear of travellers and internet users amid the current global financial crisis, according to the 2009 Unisys Security Index – beating out even terrorism, computer and health viruses, and personal safety.
It’s a startling thought, that people are more worried about their bank accounts being cleaned out than being mugged. But card fraud – which ultimately entails identity theft as well as monetary loss – accounts for the theft of tens of billions of dollars worldwide every year, and is a major problem for banks, businesses and consumers.
New measures are effective, at least temporarily. The latest addition to the anti-card fraud arsenal, chip-and-PIN cards, has for example been responsible for a large portion of a worldwide dip in card fraud in the past year. But the process of rolling out these new cards is expected to take at least another two years – by which stage fraudsters will quite possibly have figured out how to defeat this technology, too.
While you are generally protected against any financial losses stemming from card fraud, having your account attacked in any event presents you with enormous headaches around having your card stopped by your bank, replacing the card, having any losses reimbursed, and so forth.
In addition, while some security measures put in place by banks to prevent card fraud – such as automatically declining transactions that do not fit your spending profile – are worthy and laudable, they can be immensely frustrating, time-consuming to resolve, and potentially very embarrassing to you.
But no more
The Neo Africa Secure Card Solution, developed by South Africa’s Neo Africa group of companies, is an innovation that promises to revolutionise the way we all do our card transactions. Like all great ideas, its beauty lies in its simplicity: linking the card to a mobile phone, and placing control over transactions entirely in the hands of the cardholder, instead of the issuing bank.
“Neo Africa is a company that is in the business of finding innovative answers to complex problems, and we believe by giving the cardholder complete power over their own card, this South African invention will change the way people do their banking – and make credit card fraud, a multi-billion dollar problem the world over, virtually obsolete,” says Neo Africa founder and CEO Vivien Natasen.
“Worldwide card fraud continues to grow exponentially, despite the very best efforts and the use of advanced technologies. Fraudsters are highly sophisticated and find ways around even the newer, smart cards that still have a magnetic stripe on them, making the cards vulnerable – and fraudsters know all the tricks.”
Initially available to the South African market, and to visitors to South Africa, Neo Africa is currently rolling out the Neo Africa Secure Card Solution to the rest of the world.
Unlike regular cards, which are defaulted to “on”, the Neo Africa Secure Card Solution card – issued by a third-party financial institution – is defaulted to “off”. To use the card, the holder uses his or her mobile phone to switch the card on for a single transaction. The card will automatically switch off again after 30 minutes, rendering it completely unusable until it is switched on again.
The cardholder has several other options, giving even greater control over the card: for example, the cardholder can determine in which countries the card may be used, spending limits, and even the type of transactions permitted, be they online, point of sale or ATM.
Users receive text notifications of any transactions, even those that have been declined – immediately raising a red flag if a criminal has attempted to perform a fraudulent transaction. Another security feature is the ability to confirm that the user’s card and mobile phone are in the same location, indicating that a transaction is indeed legitimate.
Neo Africa currently offers two principal traveller packages: a Premium package costing R1 499 (approximately $200), and an Economy package costing R249 (approximately $35.) Special rates are also available for bulk orders. The solution can be tailored though to individual client specifications for different usage and is adaptable to many other environment such as payroll, employee allowances, managing spending for families or profiled user spend where the user authenticates each transaction according to a pre-defined rule set.
The Premium package includes a debit card and a full qwerty-keyboard handset, with built-in TV and dual-SIM capability to allow the use of a roaming GSM SIM in the same handset at the same time – as well as enjoy the benefits of paying local call rates.
The Economy package consists of a debit card and a standard handset, without the premium features but with the same protection.
In addition, Neo Africa is offering a Corporate package for companies whose employees spend a large amount of time travelling or on the road, such as sales personnel or drivers.
The Corporate package boasts spend control by employers, third-party tracking functionality – allowing employers to know where their employees are at any given time, the ability of users to top up the card from their own accounts, emergency services, and the ability to confirm that the card and handset are in the same place.
In addition, the Neo Africa Secure Card Solution offers co-branding opportunities, allowing companies to put their corporate stamp on their own bank cards.
While the Neo Africa Secure Card Solution packages at present consist of both a card and a handset, mobile applications are currently being developed to allow users to link their existing handsets with their Neo Africa cards.
“Typically, fraud prevention has been the bank’s problem and more often than not trying to identify and stop fraud has been guesswork at best. As a result, the cardholder is inconvenienced both when fraud slips through and when legitimate transactions are declined as a security precaution. Now, we’re putting the knowledge (of transactions) with the person who knows best: the cardholder.
“The Neo Africa Secure Card Solution gives cardholders complete control over their card, and eliminates card fraud problems such as skimming, cloning and card theft. Even if you fall prey to these crimes, your account cannot be cleaned out – simply because no transaction can take place without you first switching your card on, using your own mobile phone. For criminals, there is no way around this,” says Natasen.
“We are offering cardholders complete peace of mind in terms of their personal and financial security, services such as a full concierge offering, and emergency assistance – all in a one-stop, easy-to-use, very affordable package. That is, without doubt, the best kind of innovation one can get.”
For more information www.neoafricasecure.com; www.neoafrica.com
