Proximity location service to cut down on card fraud

• New Fico technology correlates locations of mobile phone and card transactions
• Service compares phone and card data to reduce false positives by up to 70%

PREDICTIVE analytics and decision management software company Fico has announced the availability of a ‘proximity correlation’ service for credit and debit card issuers that it claimed would improve the safety of payment card transactions.
 
The Fico Proximity Location Service, part of Fico Fraud Resolution Manager, compares the physical location of a cardholder’s registered mobile phone against the location of the ATM (automated teller machine) or point-of-sale terminal where the card is being used.
 
Based on the proximity, a cardholder account can be blocked or cleared for further activity, the company said in a statement.
 
In trials of the service with UK card accounts, the ability to perform this proximity matching reduced the number of ‘false positives’ (genuine transactions investigated because they appear to be fraudulent) on international transactions by as much as 70%, Fico claimed.
 
Several UK banks are now developing deployment plans for the new Fico service, which has been developed in partnership with ValidSoft, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp.
 
“Customer service is one of the driving forces behind improving fraud protection today,” said Gabriel Hopkins, senior director of product management at Fico.
 
“Banks are trying to perfect a tricky balancing act – protect customers without causing undue frustration for cardholders who travel or who use their cards in new locations.
 
Proximity correlation adds a powerful new tool that can help banks eliminate a great source of frustration for their customers who travel. With this service, cardholders can use their cards in other countries with significantly lower risk of being declined,” he added.
 
Fico Fraud Resolution Manager is an automated, two-way communications service that processes fraud cases by leveraging intelligent data assessment, advanced decision management and customer intervention.
 
It gives organisations the scalability to process high volumes of cases simultaneously, performing investigations, shaping customer action and contact strategies, and reaching resolution in seconds, the company claimed.
 
Related Stories:
 
The impact of predictive analysis in 2013
 
A revolution in customer relationship needed
 
Visa beefs up card fraud detection capabilities
 
Malaysia Trustmark for private sector launched
 
GHL claims greater cardholder security with PCI-DSS certification
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow @dnewsasia on Twitter or Like us on Facebook.