Often, we wish the news would be otherwise: Surely something other than yet-another-lapse- in-data-security must be in the payments news cycle. Well there is. But there’s also the lapse.
In payments news, we see that the Fed has issued a progress report on its previously announced “Strategies for Improving the US Payment System”, a plan that included “several strategies to enhance the US payment system to ‘meet the changing demands of American consumers and businesses,’” as synopsized by the Banking Technology website.
“The initiative is being undertaken by the Fed in conjunction with a variety of payments stakeholders, including private businesses, financial services providers, financial institutions, consumer groups and government agencies.”
The spot-check reports “significant strides” made toward the payment speed ups, with the inevitable “more work to do,” including, in 2017, plans to outline ways for the industry to improve payment identity management practices, provide guidance on standardizing definitions of fraud and risk data so it can be easily interpreted and acted upon, and publish a framework for protecting sensitive payment data.”
We’ll get to protecting that data in a moment, but yes, fraud is nigh. Fortune reports that “a new study from research firm Javelin Strategy & Research found that incidents of identify fraud rose 16% in 2016, costing individuals $16 billion in losses, which was an all-time high. In all, 15.4 million victims were affected, 2 million more than in 2015, representing 6.15% of all consumers. The study did not look exclusively at credit card, but Javelin said the vast majority of identity theft fraud is linked to credit cards.”
The article acknowledges that the more than $700 million in losses from the previous year “seems counterintuitive. Many thought the use of electronic chips would derail criminal activity. But as it turns out, the new electronic chips embedded in cards seem to be actually spurring on more fraud than they prevent. The chips have made it harder for thieves walk into a store and purchase goods with a counterfeit card… Card-not-present fraud, which is when a thief buys something online or by phone, rose 40%.”
So where does that previously mentioned “data security” come into play?
It comes into play with the arrival of SID!
As we’ve been saying, AVP Solutions will soon launch new security features to our merchant services, for a small additional monthly fee, which we’ll be calling “SmartIDentity for Business” or “SID4B” (or sometimes, just “SID.”)
SID will provide, among other things, Business Internet Credential Monitoring with email and SMS text alerts, and “real-time” Flash alerts for immediate and emerging cyber threats. You also protect your employees (and qualifying family members) from identity theft, and should they become a victim of it, a certified Recovery Advocate will manage the logistics of restoration and take control to resolve the issues on their behalf.
You will also get similar advocacy if your business is struck: Benefits include Services for up to two (2) Data Breach events per 12 month period (as “the threat is growing!”), along with an initial assessment to determine compliance and notification requirements based on the circumstances of that event, and a recommended response plan including timeline and notice content.
Protection also includes Fully Managed Identity Fraud Research, Remediation and Recovery services for a group of up to 5,000 Affected Consumer per Data Breach event
Protection similar to SID4B would normally cost thousands of additional dollars, but starting soon “SID” will be added to our own core services, for about the price of a single Valentine’s bouquet, each month.
Keep watching this space, the newsletter, and perhaps your own inbox, for more information and feel free to contact your AVPS rep to find out even more.
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