Increasing number of credit and debit cards signed up to SecureCode

25/09/2008

In order to make safer internet payments, according to APACS the payments association in the UK over twenty five million credit and debit card holders have registered with Mastercard SecureCode.

Credit and debit card holders can sign up to these services with a password in order to help prevent card crime on line. The number of card holders who have registered with these schemes have increased by a substantial amount, around 150% in the last year, and a staggering 600% in the last two years.

"Shopping online is now very much part of our everyday life, and it is excellent news that more than 25 million cards have registered with MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa. This is an important milestone as it means that more than half of all online shoppers have now registered their cards. The banking industry continues to urge those cardholders not yet signed up to do so, as we all need to play our part to make life harder for online shopping fraudsters," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS.