Craig Walker, Account Manager in the Retail and Oil & Gas sectors for Atos Consulting in the UK, explores the challenges and opportunities surrounding the move to "chip and PIN" payment cards and how Atos Origin has unique experience to help companies implement a robust and well thought through solution, not only in the UK, but in other countries as well.
In a previous job for one of the oil majors, I held the position of IT Director for the Retail service station part of the business. My team had developed a loyalty card scheme and much of our time was spent ensuring the smooth capture and processing of payment card transactions. Here fraud was such a serious issues that it effectively prevented us from deploying pay-at-the-pump solutions. The problem is, with only a signature for verification, whether or not the person presenting the card is who they claim to be.
Fraud in the UK is running at alarming levels, some £450m last year and is rising fast. The banks are tackling this by placing an 'intelligent' chip on the payment card that will enable PIN verification as well as track its usage and demand on-line authorisation. The card issuers have set a deadline of January 1st, 2005, whereby if a retailer is not able to capture and process a PIN when a payment card is presented at the checkout then if the transaction is subsequently found to be fraudulent, the bank will not reimburse the retailer. This is a huge shift in the burden of fraud.
When we started talking to our clients about this change, many saw the issue as a technical one and were looking to their IT department to select equipment, test and implement it across their retail outlets.
However, I felt strongly that 'chip and PIN' is not solely an IT issue; IT is only part of the solution. The problems to be faced by the retailer are far more to do with process change, customer awareness, staff training and a change in culture at the point of sale. There have to be facilities for handling the visually impaired customer, the person who forgets their PIN and the possible increase in on-line card processing time. There are also opportunities presented from a heightened level of security and functionality on the card.
Atos Origin was at the forefront of implementing and processing 'chip and PIN' when it was introduced in continental Europe and we have already worked with major retail clients in the UK to help them deploy and test their new solutions in the UK.
We are a leading payment card transaction processor in France, Germany and the UK. We are uniquely placed to help you decide how best to ensure you are ready for January 1st, 2005.
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