Visa tests out text fraud warnings

Visa has announced a new scheme to warn customers about potentially fraudulent transactions by SMS.

Using 2,000 guinea pigs, Visa is testing a new service which will send out text or email alerts to bank customers when certain transactions are carried out on their accounts, such as when a payment is made over a certain amount or a transaction is carried out abroad. Using SMS will cut the alert time down to hours rather than days. Customers will then be able to use the SMS to either verify the transaction is legit, or contact their bank about the fraud.

The scheme is just being trialled in America and Canada at the moment, but I suspect that it won’t be long til we see a similar offering in the UK.