“PCI Compliance is the next big step to fight payment fraud” says The Logic Group
3rd May 2006 – Transaction security specialist The Logic Group, who received a Queen’s Award for its work migrating many of the UK’s largest retailers to Chip & PIN, believe the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) will have a greater impact than Chip & PIN in fighting card fraud and maintaining consumer confidence in paying by plastic. This initiative affects all businesses that accept card payments, even those without physical stores, and is more than merely a technology issue.
Credit card fraud is estimated by the British Retail Consortium to have cost UK retailers £2.2 billion last year. In particular, with Chip & PIN having made the high street increasingly secure, much of this fraud has now started to migrate online, with card fraud incidents hitting the headlines on a weekly basis.
The PCI DSS standard, being introduced globally by Visa and MasterCard, combines a series of initiatives, covering people, process and technology aspects, to ensure card data is kept secure at all times and prevent fraudulent use by criminals.
“PCI is the next major initiative following the successful rollout of Chip & PIN in the UK,” says Mark McMurtrie, Marketing Director, The Logic Group. “Every single organisation that handles and stores cardholder data, including high street retailers, online e-tailers, businesses with telephone contact centres, payment processors, right through to banks and the card schemes themselves, must be compliant. To achieve compliance, organisations need the appropriate technology, supporting processes and training of employees. With our unrivalled experience in transaction processing and security consultancy, we can help clients achieve compliance whilst minimising the impact and cost.”
The Logic Group will be doing its bit to help turn the tide on fraud at this year’s Retail Fraud Conference taking place tomorrow in London (Novotel, Hammersmith), where attendees can find out more about how the group can help maintain consumer confidence, protect business and fight card fraud.
At the fore of The Logic Group’s fight against card fraud, is the range of PCI DSS Consultancy Services it has developed, together with specialist partners, to help merchants understand their position today and gain compliance with this new standard. This is backed up by a range of sophisticated software solutions designed to cut fraud and reduce risk. Statistics from Visa Europe show that support for card security codes and address verification can reduce fraud by up to 70% and yet are still not fully exploited. Similarly, online merchants can benefit from Visa and MasterCard’s payer authentication initiatives - Verified by Visa (VbV) and MasterCard SecureCode. Adoption of these schemes means that liability for fraudulent Visa and MasterCard transactions shifts to the card issuer, with these initiatives being estimated to cut fraud and disputed transaction rates by 80%.
The Logic Group’s leading role in reducing fraud through the introduction of Chip & PIN is continuing with new solutions for unattended and wireless environments as well as specific packages for mid-tier merchants.
Note to Editors
About the Logic Group
The Logic Group manages information and transactions securely for large and medium sized businesses across its European home market. The company delivers unrivalled business value to its customers through the secure provision of card processing and IT services consultancy, together with delivering loyalty and insight programmes.
The group has won a number of major awards including the 2005 Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the central role it played in the UK roll-out of EMV Chip & PIN.
