With the US soon to be following suit with the adoption of EMV (Chip-and-PIN) technology, the migration in card-not-present (CNP) fraud this will cause is also a major threat to many UK and European businesses.

The introduction of EMV across all major outlets in the US is sure to lower rates in lost, stolen and counterfeit card fraud, as it did throughout the UK from 2004. However, fraudsters will now look elsewhere to target consumers, engaging specifically in CNP crime.

Following the wave of European EMV adoption, countries such as France have seen a major increase in CNP criminal activity, up 20% between 2001 and 2007. Where levels of US CNP crime are yet to increase, planning ahead for fraudsters’ future agendas is something retailers need to take into serious consideration.

With the roll-out of EMV set for October 2015 across the US, combatting the potential for CNP fraud is essential.

Below, our CIO Monica Eaton-Cardone has highlighted some key techniques retailers can implement in order to protect themselves against excessive chargebacks:

  • Increasing levels of customer service means that customers will be more likely to go to their retailer than to their banks to recover fraudulent transactions. Moreover, spending amounts will tend to be higher if the customer is happy.
  • Maintain impeccable records – if you have the customer’s signature on file, their fraudulent claim that they “never got the parcel” is easy to disprove.
  • Optimising logistics to a high standard, such as speed of delivery and an effective procedure in tracking product activity is also key. With effective notification, delivery address changes and cancelling of goods at the last minute will allow the option for questions to be asked. Fraud will be easier to detect if this is done.

Whilst the US adoption of EMV will allow businesses to increase levels of protection for customers, it is crucial retailers pay attention to the other potential areas fraudsters will target such as CNP. Implementing the above will allow UK and European businesses to keep their losses to a minimum, with the added bonus of increasing customer satisfaction.