Visa trials mobile transaction confirmations

Early warning for suspicious activity

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21 July 2009 17:22 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Visa Europe has announced the trial of a new mobile service that gives Visa cardholders instant transaction confirmation to their mobiles when they use their debit, credit, or prepaid card.

Visa says the notifications will provide "increased peace of mind when shopping, on a night out, or on holiday by instantly sending the time, location and amount of each transaction to the consumer’s mobile".

Consumers will be able to choose to receive the alert via an SMS or email or to an application downloaded to a smartphone with plans to offer iPhone and Android apps.

"With Visa's mobile alert service, we want to offer cardholders the reassurance of knowing, in real-time, exactly where and when their card is being used. If something looks suspicious, this will give them the power to put a stop to any fraud taking place on their cards" says a Visa bod.

Visa is currently trialling the real-time alert service with its staff in the UK, we will keep you posted on a wider launch.