FRAUD: VISA GIVES NIGERIA CLEAN BILL

Mmmm! when i saw this article on a website, i was elated. You mean Nigerians have not defrauded Visa Card International in its local operations since the company started operations in Nigeria? This is great, though i think the information is a little bit old, nonetheless it is still news we should read. Enjoy it.

Visa International, the world's leading electronic payment company has givenNigeria a clean bill of health, saying no incident of fraud has been recordedsince it commenced issuance of cards in the country. Vice President, Risk Management, Africa, Visa International, Mr. Neil Hawkeymade this known in Johannesburg, South Africa during a chat with some Africanjournalists. "There has been no fraud record of any Visa card issued in Nigeria and I think this is a very good development," he said. Standard Chartered Bank is the only bank that issues Visa Electron (international debit card) in Nigeria. Two other banks, namely Ecobank NigeriaPlc and Standard Trust Bank Plc also issue Mastercard.

Hawkey however, noted that Mozambique topped the list in Africa acquired fraud losses in selected countries during the fourth quarter of 2004 in the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), with 1.25 per cent fraud tosales losses, followed by Algeria (0.57 per cent), Morocco (0.39 per cent),Cote D'lvoire (0.24 per cent), Tunisia (O.17 per cent), Egypt (0.16 per cent)and South Africa (0.12).

The CEMEA average fraud to sales losses wastherefore put at 0.11 per cent During the same period, in terms of Africa issuer fraud losses, he noted thatKenya led the pack with 0.37 per cent fraud to sales losses, trailed by Egypt(0.16 per cent), Mauritius (0.15 per cent), South Africa (0.07 per cent) andBotswana and Tunisia having 0.03 per cent apiece. The CEMEA average fraud to sales losses was therefore put at 0.08 per cent. But in the first quarter of 2005, he noted that Europe topped the list in terms of counterfeiting by region of card, accounting for 64.1 per cent of thecounterfeited cards during the period. This he said, was trailed by some regions in the CEMEA (10.3 per cent), UnitedStates of America and Asia (9.7 per cent each), Canada (4.8 per cent) andLatin America (1.24 per cent).

He however noted that fraud rates on Visa cards are on downward trend worldwide, stressing that Visa and its member banks work closely together tofight fraud. "Visa has also developed CDs in Arabic, English and French to help intimate the police and other law enforcement agents with the various types of waysused by card fraudsters. We also give them various hi-tech tools to help them read as well as identify fake cards," he added.

Hawkey also maintained that technology would drastically reduce the incidences of card frauds. Earlier, Visa's Business Development Manager, Nigeria, Mr. Garvin Young, defended the investment made in Valucard, which he described as the largestVisa has ever made in any entity within the sub Saharan Africa. Young whowould soon be permanently based in Nigeria by December, said "there is hugepotentials for e-payment transactions in the Nigeria."

Visa International have bought 30 per cent stake in Valucard Nigeria Plc by committing $2.8 million to secure a seat on the board.Valucard, which is owned by 33 leading financial institutions, has in its consortium 43 banks. Also commenting on Nigeria, General Manager and Senior Vice President: Sub-Saharan Africa, Visa International, Mr. Robert Clark described theNigerian market as complex. "The Nigerian market is complex with lots of banks in the e-payment consortiums using different platforms.

The on-going consolidation is alsochanging the face of banking and there is also pressure to ensure trust and confidence in the banking system," he said. Specifically, he said Visa is increasing its focus across sub Saharan Africa"because there are huge growth opportunities." Visa, which has 13,905,452 and $29,796,677,744 card numbers and expenditure value respectively as at December 2004, he said, intends to increase year on year by 31 per cent in card numbers and 50 per cent in expenditure value. "We want every metric to be doubled in the next two years and also want to bethe alternative to cash," he added. Visa International is the world's leading payment brand generating nearly $3trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa, which is widely accepted in more than 150 countries, is reputed to play pivotal role in developing innovative payments products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 members.
Source http://e-nigeria.net/page.php?id=377

Watchout for list of banks offering debit cards in Nigeria and then we will look at use of ATM cards in Nigeria.