Visa Announces New Payment Security Initiatives in Singapore to Safeguard Transactions and Combat Fraud

In an effort to enhance payment security and protect consumers and businesses from fraudulent activities, Visa, the global leader in digital payments, unveiled a series of payment security initiatives as part of its updated security roadmap. These measures aim to provide advanced protection for transactions conducted online and at physical retailers. Visa will collaborate with financial institutions and merchants to implement these initiatives and ensure the safety of the payments ecosystem.

According to Visa’s latest Consumer Payments Attitudes Study, credit and debit card usage in Singapore and Malaysia has been steadily increasing, with 82 percent of consumers in Singapore preferring these payment methods. However, the evolving payments landscape also introduces new threats, as demonstrated by a survey commissioned by Visa, which revealed that 31 percent of respondents in Singapore had fallen victim to fraudulent use of their personal credit or debit cards.

Adeline Kim, Visa’s Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei, emphasized the company’s commitment to security and its significant investments in preserving and enhancing the security of every Visa transaction. Kim expressed satisfaction in launching the updated Security Roadmap, which outlines the steps Visa will take, in collaboration with its partners, to further secure the payments ecosystem in Singapore.

Key focus areas of Visa’s security roadmap in Singapore include the implementation of real-time fraud detection systems, investment in secure technologies such as the Secure Credential Framework and Digital Authentication Frameworks, and the adoption of EMV 3DS, a risk-based authentication solution introduced by Visa to enhance security in the card-not-present ecosystem.

In its ongoing efforts to combat fraud and protect the payments ecosystem, Visa has continually evolved its data-driven, security-focused solutions. Over the past five years, the company has invested $10 billion globally to strengthen cybersecurity. Visa leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven solutions to identify, investigate, disrupt, and prevent attacks on the global payments ecosystem. The company’s strategic security expertise and comprehensive protection have proven effective in countering emerging security threats.

Visa’s Visa Advanced Authorization, one of its notable solutions, utilizes over 500 data elements to generate a risk score for each transaction. This approach has helped banks prevent an estimated $26 billion in fraud globally in fiscal year 2021. The solution’s effectiveness highlights the potential of AI-powered technologies in fraud prevention and detection.

As Southeast Asian consumers embrace digital lifestyles, the adoption of biometrics and digital identities as secure payment authentication methods is on the rise. The YouGov study conducted in the region revealed that 75 percent of respondents were aware of biometric payment authentication, with 53 percent considering it a safer way to pay. Although the current ownership of digital identities in the region remains low at 18 percent, both awareness (71%) and interest (63%) among non-owners are relatively high.

Visa recognizes the importance of digital identities and their authentication in securing transactions in the future. The company believes that focusing on digital identities will be crucial in mitigating new threats as commerce increasingly shifts to digital channels. Visa’s call to action on Digital Identity and its use for authentication aims to drive industry-wide collaboration and adoption of this secure authentication method.

With a dedicated global team of over 1,000 cybersecurity specialists, Visa provides round-the-clock, real-time fraud detection and mitigation services. Its AI-powered technology analyzes millions of transactions daily to identify known and emerging threats. By identifying patterns in data that would otherwise go unnoticed, Visa’s technology detects enumeration patterns and alerts affected financial institutions and merchants before fraudulent transactions occur.