Debit card readers to be issued to Barclay customers

Up to half a million Barclays Bank customers are going to be issued with state of the art debit card readers in a bid to beat online fraud. The debit card reader mean that these customers won’t have to worry about using passwords to authorise certain online transactions, and the readers are expected to be issued to current account customers that use the Internet to transfer money from their accounts to other people.

When making the transfer the customer that have these debit card readers will simply be able to insert their card, key in their pin number, and authorize the transaction that way. The move comes about after a significant rise in phishing, which is a type of card not present Internet fraud that has caught many people out in the past, and has netted fraudsters millions. By using this latest technology it will be clear that the transaction is being made by the person that has the pin number for the account as well as possession of the account debit card.

According to Barclays the debit card readers simply offer an extra level of security for those that are making regular money transfers online from their current accounts, and will protect them from the type of card not present online banking fraud that has become such a problem in the UK over recent years. Around the size of a small calculator, the devices are known as PINsentry, and will require the user to enter the card and the pin number in order to authorize an online money transaction from their account.

One the card and correct pin number has been entered into the device, a one off password will be issued to the cardholder, and this can then be entered online in order to process the transaction. However, this password will be a one use only password, and therefore will not prove useful to fraudsters.