Visa ‘committed to more secure e-payment’

BUSINESS

By Carole Kimutai, Nairobi, Kenya

In line with its commitment to help minimize fraud and protect cardholders, Visa is hosting the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Fraud Council in Kenya this week.

The Council draws attendees from selected member banks across the entire Sub-Saharan region who will attend a two-day meeting to work toward ensuring the safety and integrity of the regional card payment system infrastructure.

 “Tackling potential fraud is critical to success in any market.  We are able to call on global experts to come to Nairobi to share their experiences and start an ongoing conversation as part of the constant battle against fraud. The Regional Fraud Council is a vehicle for the entire market to benefit from collaborative effort,” said Victor Ndlovu, Visa Country Manager, East Africa.

An important tool in the battle against fraud is collaboration amongst peer banks and across borders. This two-day event is an opportunity for attendees to learn about Visa’s Payment System Risk Strategy and to share its message with their respective country risk forums. It is also an important opportunity for Visa to gain first-hand understanding about the challenges the respective countries are facing and to assist in building effective roadmaps to combat fraud.

 “Visa employs multiple layers of security that work together to help manage fraud. From anti-counterfeit features to network-based fraud detection to data security standards that help keep sensitive information secure, we are committed to leading the industry toward a more secure, trusted payment system,” said Bryce Thorrold, head of the Visa Sub-Saharan country risk management team.

Thorrold added: “While payments fraud remains at historic lows, we must stay vigilant to protect cardholder data from misuse. To do that, we must protect each link in our system and work with others to maintain and enhance trust in Visa as the most secure way to pay and be paid.”

Visa’s approach is to minimize fraud in the payment system by building policies, tools and technologies that will help prevent fraud before it happens; protect vulnerable card data wherever it is stored, processed or transmitted throughout the payment system; and monitor and manage fraud to ensure prompt response and minimize impact to stakeholders, including cardholders.