O2 Travel Alerts Service Hopes To Stamp Out Holiday Card Fraud

O2 is teaming up with credit card provider MBNA for a new service that aims to simplify the use of debit and credit cards abroad whiilst also reducing fraud.

The “world first” Travel Alerts service will mean you no longer have to notify your bank when travelling abroad, instead simply opting in to activate when O2 detects your device roaming in a foreign country.

This will then link up to any transaction carried out with the designated credit card, and if the service detects the two are in separate countries, the card carrier and issuer are both immediately notified.

Safety

O2 says that fraud committed abroad on UK-issued cards increased by 23 percent to £150 million during 2015, with the average amount stolen from each account is near £2,000.

It has trialled Travel Alerts with thousands of MBNA customers, many of whom have chosen to opt into the service. O2 has reported success in improving consumer convenience and reducing fraud risk.

The operator now hopes to make Travel Alerts available to the wider public before the summer holiday season begins, regardless of their bank or mobile provider.

“We’re very proud to have created this world-first new technology to help address the growing issue of card fraud,” said Glyn Povah, head of O2 global product development. “Travel Alerts completely reinvents the process of liaising with your bank to update them on travel plans and using digital technology gives customers the power to update their bank in real-time.

“We’re really looking forward to Travel Alerts being available to everyone. This new technology will help take the hassle out of accessing our money overseas so we can get on with enjoying our time away.”

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