Smart unit launches solution vs credit card, ATM fraud

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has introduced a solution to prevent the proliferation of automated teller machine (ATM) and credit card fraud.

Smart e-Money Inc. has launched “LockByMobile” at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona , Spain that would allow card users to “lock” and “unlock” both their ATM and credit cards using their mobile phones.

Smart e-Money president and chief executive officer Orlando Vea said in a statement that “LockByMobile” would provide an additional layer of security for ATM and credit card holders.

“The new service provides an additional layer of security by enabling a prepaid, debit or credit card holder to block and un-block the use of the funds in their cards through a few clicks on their mobile phones,” Vea said.

Based on the award-winning Smart Money mobile payments platform, Vea said this solution could be made available to payment cards issued by banks worldwide through mobile phones provided by any operator.

He added that it could be applied using smartphones or feature phones.

Smart e-Money originally developed the Smart Money platform in 2000.

“Given recent developments, LockByMobile is a timely solution that can be quickly implemented by banks and mobile operators and provide greater peace of mind to payment card users,” Vea said.

Concern over payment card fraud has risen sharply because of several recent, highly-publicized security breaches of customer information systems.

Target, a major retailer in the United States , disclosed last December that hackers had penetrated its network and stolen the payment-card information of over 40 million customers.

A few months before that, Adobe Systems reported what it called a “sophisticated” cyber-attack on its network that compromised confidential customer information of several tens of millions of its customers.

The recent hacking of the EMV chip-and-PIN credit card of PayPal president David Marcus during a trip to the United Kingdom has only added to the mounting concerns about payment-cards usage.

Security breaches such as these are expected to further fuel payments fraud. Estimates put the total global payment-card fraud losses at around $11.3 billion in 2012, up 15 percent from the year before. The United States accounted for nearly half of the total.

Smart e-Money innovation and emerging payments head Lito Villanueva said “LockByMobile” provides a very flexible solution that allows the user the ability to customize what payment functionalities must be locked or unlocked such as ATM withdrawal, over-the-counter or point-of-sale purchase or online transactions.

The service also includes the use of location-based or geo-locking features.

“ATM or credit card holders do not use their cards 24/7 but they are susceptible to fraud 24/7. You only unlock it when you need to use it,” Villanueva added.

Its patented features include the Transaction Date and Time Stamp Lock which prohibit transactions at defined dates and times such as when the user is overseas or during hours when the probability of the user making a purchase is low.