The adoption of chip and PIN technology is a major step in fighting fraud, according to a study by the Kenya Bankers Association.
Consequently, card-related fraud has significantly reduced over the past three years after the adoption of EMV as the industry-wide standard for payment cards in Kenya. However, there has been a surge in identity theft cases and mobile fraud.
Globally in 2016, about 4,003 cases of card fraud were reported in EMV exempt countries. Locally, there has been no reported incidences of card fraud since the industry transition to EMV.
It should be noted that, globally, 42.4% of transactions are EMV. In the Africa region, 89.9% of card-present transactions are EMV.
KBA CEO Habil Olaka says while EMV Compliance has so far been effective in comprehensively addressing card skimming fraud, creating a market opportunity to promote payment card usage, fraud has migrated to other areas.
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“There is no doubt chip and PIN cards have curtailed card fraud and it is exciting to see customer confidence grow. Tis has propagated usage of payment cards not only at the ATMs but also in retail outlets and via online platforms, ” added Mr Olaka.
Mr. Olaka emphasized the importance of focusing on the evolving threat of fraud and the importance of cooperation and collaboration among the various segments of the payment card industry in the search for solutions.
He noted that the industry’s successes have not come from a single solution but from the execution of multiple and interacting strategies. The primary aim is to bolster consumer confidence in payment systems, especially to digital platforms.
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According to Interswitch CEO Paul Ndichu, consumer confidence is an imperative in the payment card business. Interswitch recently announced that it had received re-certification in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) v3.2.
This is a major milestone that comes through rigorous standards audit and confirms Interswitch’s adherence to the highest security standards in the card payments and processing space. Interswitch has been re-certified for PCI DSS three years in a row.
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