From the front it looks like an ordinary credit card, but flipping Emue Technologies' transaction card over reveals some of the elements that make it unique: a keypad and an LCD display. The Emue card represents what is claimed to be the world's first and only fully ISO-compliant card with an embedded microprocessor, a 12-button keypad, an 8-digit alphanumeric display and long-life battery. Emue Technologies, which is a small Australian firm based in Melbourne and Adelaide, has been developing the technology for over two years.
When a user enters
their personal identification number (PIN) into the card, the display
on the card shows a one-time number with which to authenticate each
online credit/debit card transaction. The card can also be deployed as
an independent identity protection card or a multi-function
credit/debit/ATM card, depending on the different applications.
According to Emue Technologies CEO Brendan McKeegan, the company's new supercard is able to prevent a billion US dollars of credit card fraud each year. "Our extensive R&D helps the product meet the broad requirements of various industries in terms of identity theft mitigation, secure transaction processing and consumer convenience, resulting in a solution capable of multi-channel threat mitigation," McKeegan said.
"Put simply, we are providing a more secure process for online transactions. These can be merchant-based purchasing transactions that could involve the use of a dynamic security code in the place of the static CVV code printed on the back of credit/debit cards. Alternatively it can involve a scheme such as the "Verified by Visa" solution - to make that particular solution more secure.
"Another obvious use for our technology is to
thwart a lot of the fraud associated with online banking. Our
authentication solution can be used to stop 'phishing' and
'man-in-the-middle' attacks on customer accounts."
To effectively trial the Emue supercard, nine pilots will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2009, and scheduled to run through to the end of June. Eight of these pilots will be run in conjunction with Visa Europe and the other will be conducted with bank customers in Australia.
"Within Europe we have an exclusive relationship with Visa, but not outside of that territory," said McKeegan.
"Depending on results of the European pilots, some might finish earlier. But six months is our current schedule."
The customized Visa one-time code card developed in conjunction with Emue Technologies, has been designed as an innovative tool to combat the threat of card-not-present (CNP) fraud. The front of the card looks like a conventional payment card, while the back has an eight-digit alpha-numeric display and a button keypad. The card incorporates a technology that generates a secure one-time only code displayed to the cardholder via the integrated screen. It is very straightforward to use and has a battery designed to last for three years.
According to Visa Europe, cardholders will be protected by a secure solution that authenticates online transactions when ordering over the telephone or via the Internet. They will also benefit from a simple and straightforward process because there will be no need to register, or to use any separate device or, more importantly, to remember any passwords.
by Neil Munro
Nikkei Electronics |
Nikkei Monozukuri |
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