JEDDAH, 21 December 2006 — Built-in security systems are proving to be useful in checking credit card frauds, a top executive of a credit card company said yesterday. As fraudulent use of cards is a global phenomenon, “we, on our part, work proactively to protect our cardholders, prevent fraud, and safeguard financial information,” MasterCard vice president and country manager Shaun K. Rashid told Arab News in an interview. “They are our top priorities,” he pointed out. He said the company has also built-in security systems to address their concern.
Efforts are being made to check frauds with the help of local authorities. In fact, frauds are not limited to a country or a region. Identity thefts, fraudulent use of cards, use of lost or stolen ones, and unauthorized use of cards are among the frauds that have been committed and continue to be detected.
“Preventing fraud is the shared responsibility of everyone involved in this industry. The reality is that it has never been safer for consumers to use their MasterCard cards,” he said.
“We take the lead in fostering collaboration among merchants, banks, law enforcement professionals and counterpart organizations throughout the world to help facilitate investigations and prosecution those involved in card fraud,” Rashid said, who is based at the MasterCard regional office in Dubai that oversees markets across South Asia, Middle East and Africa.
“MasterCard provides a sophisticated set of transaction processing and other payment solutions and with the emergence of “smart” cards, number of frauds could go down further,” he said. “Our cardholders should have the peace of mind knowing that if their card was ever compromised, they would ultimately have the protection of our zero-liability policy, as with all MasterCard payment programs in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa‚“ Rashid assured.
Moreover, credit card companies are making efforts to raise the awareness and growth in the use of credit cards grows. “The Kingdom and the rest of the Gulf is still depending largely on cash transactions, but the usefulness of credit cards as a mode of payment is being considerably realized,” Rashid said.
Aside from the convenience and security associated with the use of cards instead of cash, cardholders “benefit from promotional offers, discounts and loyalty programs as well,” he said.
Payment card companies have been coming up with novel ideas to promote their products and, as a result, “whether prepaid or postpaid, demand for payment cards is increasing steadily,” Rashid noted.
MasterCard has launched its holiday season campaign across the Kingdom, which ends on January 17. “Together with participating customer banks, we’re offering our cardholders the chance to win one of the 35 prizes worth SR20,000 each when using their MasterCard credit card,” he said.
Payment card companies have been processing billions of transactions each year. MasterCard alone processes approximately 14 billion transactions each year and through its family of brands, serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.
In Saudi Arabia, MasterCard claims to take the lead — from entry level to very affluent, platinum products. It has Islamic credit cards that are accepted in four banks — the National Commercial Bank, Samba, Riyad Bank and Arab National Bank.
