Published on 08/30/2008

Visa and participating banks test a new transaction notification system to alert cardmembers of activity such as ATM withdrawals, out of town and other potential fraudulent credit card charges. Browse and submit a Visa credit card application.

Visa Credit Card Transaction Alerts

Visa tests a new transaction alert service to give Visa credit card members notifications whenever a potentially fraudulent charge occurs.

Visa; along with North American banks which include PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo, have agreed to launch a trial program with up to a total of 2,000 participants to test the delivery of a near instant notification alerts on Visa accounts.

The program is designed to alert cardholders instantly; or near instantly, about suspicious transactions to their Visa credit card accounts. Participants will receive notification alerts from Visa through email or Short Message Service (SMS) delivered directly to their mobile devices.

Based on Visa's transaction authorization system plus its ability to judge low or high risk score transactions as they occur, the service allows Visa cardholders to set individual thresholds that will trigger a transaction alert. Alert types that Visa cardholders may choose include:

Cash withdrawal from an ATM machine
A transaction initiated cross border
An Internet or telephone transaction
A transaction that exceeds an amount that has been chosen by the cardholder

Through the alert received via email or SMS text, cardholders can verify the transaction details, and if the transaction appears to be irregular, can immediately contact their bank to help stop further transactions on the card. The service is designed to help cardholders keep closer track of their transactions and spending levels as they go about their daily routine. According to a recent Javelin Strategy & Research report, consumers view timely alerts as a valuable resource to help detect fraud.

Visa's Mobile Platform is supporting mobile trials of:

Mobile payments made both at the point of sale (using Visa payWave technology) and away from it by permitting remote payments via text message or the Internet
Value-added services, which in addition to account notification can include the delivery of offers, coupons and rewards directly to a consumer's mobile device
Mobile acceptance, enabling mobile devices to accept Visa payments, thus extending the flexibility of merchants
Money transfer, which allows cardholders to use their mobile device to electronically transfer money to family and friends around the world directly from their Visa accounts

Browse and submit a Visa Credit Card Application.