MasterCard
and Visa’s online authentication schemes received a boost this week
when it was announced that British Airways had signed up to both
initiatives to improve security on its e-commerce
site.
Verified by Visa
and SecureCode, which promise to slash online fraud by as much as
80% by authenticating cardholders with a password, were launched in
early 2002, but take-up from card issuers and merchants was slow
for the first 18 months.
Fears over the
cost of implementing the technology and doubts about
interoperability between the schemes initally held companies back,
despite claims that retailers could save more than £55m a year by
signing up.
However, the
BA.com deals, which are both global, reflect the increasing
interest in the initiatives, which promise to ensure the retailers
that sign up are not liable for chargebacks when the cardholder
denies authorising the purchase.
There are now
5,500 retailers live with SecureCode in the UK and six card
issuers, while 5,000 retailers and six issuers have signed up to
Verified by Visa. In addition, both schemes can be run side by side
without extra investment in software, the credit card firms
said.
The increasing
popularity of the internet for booking flights has highlighted the
need for extra online security, said Simon Parks Smith, head of
e-commerce at BA.
“Online bookings
now account for 46% of our shorthaul, non-premium business in the
UK and this figure will keep rising,” he said.
“The sheer volume
of tickets processed via the internet means that we’re constantly
striving to have the best security possible. We want to keep our
customers using the web and encourage e-commerce newcomers to book
with us in this way.”
E-commerce software supplier CyberSource and multi-currency
acquisition services Streamline International, worked with BA on
both implementations.