Plans to shut down loss-making ATMs across Britain could leave hundreds of communities without ready access to cash, says consumer group Which?.

Which? is worried that proposals from Link – the UK’s largest cash machine network – to lower its fees by 20% could lead to mass closures of free-to-use ATM machines in struggling rural communities that are already feeling the impact of the retreat from the high street by the nation’s largest banks.

The consumer champion conducted research which identified over 200 communities in Britain with poor ATM provision, or no cash machines at all, which might be hardest hit by proposals that could reduce the network.

Which? analysed Link data on 70,000 cash machines across the UK. It found that 123 postcode districts – with a combined population of 110,935 – did not appear to contain a single ATM, making many consumers reliant on access in nearby villages or towns. Meanwhile, a further 116 postcode districts appear to have just one ATM, 37 of which charge a fee.

Link has said it will encourage operators to keep free machines and to protect free-to-use ATMs that are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free cash machine. However, Cardtronics, the biggest ATM operator in the UK, expects that those hit hardest would not be busy high streets, but ATMs in rural communities.

Which? is calling on the Payment Systems Regulator to conduct an urgent review to fully evaluate the impact that these changes could have on consumers.

Gareth Shaw, Which? money expert says: “These proposals could place a strain on communities across the UK that are already struggling to access the cash they need following mass bank closures. The financial regulator must intervene to avoid this situation getting worse.”

– finextra.com –

Mobile payments in China have increasingly made cash obsolete, but the convenience of the new technology has raised growing security concerns.

A China UnionPay survey of 105,000 people found that 60% had been exposed to some kind of mobile-payment security threat, including information leaks, fraud or malicious attacks.

QR codes — which are scanned using a mobile phone — have become the most popular payment technology in China, but fraud via this method is on the rise, the survey found. Nearly 30% of users reporting mobile-payment fraud said QR codes were involved, up from 15% last year.

For example, a common method of cheating users with QR codes involves using a fraudulent social media account, routing the scanned code to the thief’s payment account rather than to a retail establishment’s account.

Respondents reported risks were the highest during the opening of new accounts. To streamline the payment process, mobile platforms tend to use shortcuts — such as a mobile phone number — for user verification. But this can leave customers open to attacks, according to China UnionPay.

Older users were more vulnerable to fraud, the report found, with 59% of respondents above the age of 50 saying they had been cheated at least once. The investigation found that older people tend to be easily attracted to discounts, and may scan a given QR code more readily than younger users.

Women reported experiencing mobile-payment fraud 10% more often than men, but men reported a higher average financial loss.

– caixinglobal.com –

Indian consumers are keen to use biometrics like fingerprint, facial and voice recognition for authentication, over traditional passwords or PINs, a report by digital payments major Visa has found.

In a survey, Visa found that biometric authentication for payments are seen as more secure than passwords/PINs (48% of respondents) and that it gives consumers peace of mind that their payment is protected (46%). Also, many said biometrics are faster (81%) and easier to use (84%) than passwords. However, 51% said they are concerned about the risk of a security breach of sensitive biometric information.

Visa stated that biometrics are convenient options over conventional methods like passwords or PINs “which are difficult to type onto tiny keyboards, easy to forget, and can be stolen”, the report said.

“The payments ecosystem is witnessing a rapid change in adoption of new form factors of payments and modes of authentication,” Visa India and South Asia Group Country Manager TR Ramachandran said.

He said smartphones today have advanced features increasing the accuracy and speed of biometrics, such that they can be used for financial transactions.

“Indian consumers too have discovered the ease of biometric authentication and are open to using this technology for transactions going forward, which augurs well for the Indian payments industry,” he stated.

Visa and Dynamics today unveiled the Dynamics Wallet Card, an Internet of Things (IoT) device that holds multiple payment cards and includes a digital display allowing for greater security, instant issuance and on-card alerts or coupons.

The Visa-branded version of the Wallet Card is the same size and shape as a normal Visa credit or debit card, yet it incorporates multiple features and technologies not previously found in a single payment card.

Features of the Wallet Card range from the capacity to access multiple cards – whether EMV-, contactless- or magnetic stripe-based – to a programmable on-card display that enables account information, such as alerts or coupons, to be sent to the cardholder via an embedded antenna.

“Innovation in the payments category is not limited to wearables, cars, security or mobile technology – there is still much that can be done to update the card-based experience, which continues to be the primary form factor used globally to complete digital payments transactions,” said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk and authentication products, Visa.

“Having collaborated with Dynamics since they launched their first product several years ago, we’re excited about the many unique benefits that the Visa Wallet Card can offer to both financial institutions and cardholders, alike.”

Wallet Card includes a mobile phone chip and antenna so data can be transferred between Wallet Card and a consumer’s bank anywhere in the world and at any time of the day.

The device offers a number of cardholder benefits and cutting-edge technologies, including:

• Multiple Cards in One: Cardholders can access their debit, credit, pre-paid, multicurrency, one-time use, or loyalty cards on a single card with the tap of a button. Account information is shown on the on-card display with the ability to toggle between cards or accounts.
• Instant Issuance: As the first instant, digital card platform, financial institutions can distribute Visa Wallet Card anywhere and at any time – such as in their retail branches or at events, and consumers can activate it right away.
• Greater Security: A bank can quickly delete a compromised card account number and replace it with a new account number, providing convenience and peace of mind for the cardholder.
• Alerts and Messages: An on-card, 65,000-pixel display shows both account information and allows messages to be sent to the Visa Wallet Card at any time. For example, after every purchase, a message may be sent to notify the consumer of the purchase and their remaining balance if they used a pre-paid or debit card. Cardholders can also receive coupons directly on the display or be notified of a suspicious purchase and click on “Not Me” to report suspected fraud and request a new card number.
• Self-Charging Battery: An organic chip ensures the payment card charges itself through normal operation and doesn’t require any work for the cardholder.

“Visa supported the initial launches of Dynamics first- and second-generation powered cards which brought new functionality to payment cards,” said Jeffrey Mullen, CEO of Dynamics Inc. “Today, we are pleased to again have Visa by our side as an integral partner and thought leader as we launch Wallet Card, our most innovative payment card to-date.”

Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi urged the Centre to utilise facial recognition technique to trace missing children, and asked the authorities to not delay the same citing the excuse that it’s a costly affair. He delivered a lecture at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in Hyderbad on Tuesday.

“Of the 1.25 lakh children missing in the country, about 1 lakh are living in homes run for children across the country. They have not been identified and put in a database,” he said. “If the technology is used, many of them living in orphanages might be recognised when compared with the list of missing children and can be returned to families.”

While the Centre has been delaying the usage of the technology citing its cost, the Supreme Court has already suggested that unused hundreds of crores in Nirbhaya Funds be utilised for the purpose.
Speaking on the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, Satyarthi said that about 94 per cent of cases filed under the Act are pending in courts.

“In most cases, the abused child might become a senior citizen by the time justice is delivered,” he said, adding that exclusive courts are needed at district levels to deal with POCSO cases. He has recommended the same to government. He has also recommended the formation of an exclusive tribunal to deal with POCSO cases on the lines of the National Green Tribunal.

“A committee should be formed at national level with sub-committees in States. It should be a quasi-judicial body headed by a former Chief Justice of India and other Supreme Court judges who have experience in child rights issues,” he said.

Satyarthi also said that he had submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources Development that age-appropriate sex education and lessons on child rights should be part of the school curriculum so that the students are empowered to protect themselves.

– newindianexpress –