Crackin' Visa

Credit Firms Push to Thwart Fraud
Summary: Responding to recent high-profile security breaches, MasterCard (MA) and Visa International are now cracking down on merchants who do not follow rules set in place to keep credit card transactions secure. MasterCard is already fining policy violators, and Visa is scheduled to start imposing fines this coming Saturday. Larger merchants are being targeted first, with smaller merchants targeted early next year. Concern has been growing about credit card security, especially regarding identity theft. Recently Citigroup (C) had to reissue thousands of credit and debit cards after it detected hundreds of offshore unauthorized cash withdrawals, and last year transaction processor CardSystems Solutions admitted that 40 million cards (whose transactions it processed) were at risk due to non compliant data storage procedures. Full WSJ article > Related links: For Credit Card Issuers, The Sky's the Limit When It Comes to Rewarding Customers • An In-Depth Look At MasterCard's IPO • BusinessWeek: Analyst says MasterCard premium too high • Wikipedia: Credit card fraud