Bank fraud is no joke. Unfortunately, that isn’t stopping hackers and thieves from stealing credit card numbers and bank information on a regular basis. Millions of people every year are subjected to this arduous process that often leaves them stuck with the bill of someone on an outrageous spending spree. Fortunately, French banks are looking into a means of changing the script on bank fraud once and for all. And it seems like a pretty revolutionary idea.
Oberthur Technologies has developed a ready-to-go solution for banks and financial institutions that will make fraud virtually impossible for potential hackers. The card, dubbed Motion Code, will keep your digits safe by replacing the security code (the three numbers on the back of your card) with a miniature screen that changes every few hours to keep you safe from online purchases made without the card present. These “card-not-present” scenarios account for 65 percent of fraud, so this move is more than welcomed.
“This technology adds an additional layer of security for online transactions — but with total transparency for the cardholder and the retailer,” said Martin Ferenczi, president of Oberthur Technologies North America in an interview with TechCrunch.
The need for this kind of technology is more than obvious. 31.8 US consumers were victim to some form of credit card fraud in 2014. Those numbers will only serve to increase, as banks have been slow to adapt to the changing digital landscape ahead of them. Consumers are more and more pressed for secure means of using their information online. And with a simple switch like this, consumers are sure to jump on board as fast as humanly possible.
“The cardholder will not have to change anything in their normal buying behavior,” said Ferenczi in the same interview. “When they’re asked for the code on the back of the card, they will just read a 3-digit number, as usual; the fact that the code happens to be changing every hour doesn’t affect them. The only visible difference to them is that it’s displayed on a mini-screen.”
While the idea is genius, reality is always a pain to deal with. Oberthur Technologies hopes to have a number of pilot programs out by the end of the year, meaning this revolutionary technology won’t become standard on credit cards for quite some time. So hold onto that number for dear life, because help is on the way.