Don’t force people to use tap and go cards, banks told

THE City watchdog has told High Street banks not to force customers to use contactless cards amid growing fears about fraud.

MPs have put pressure on the Financial Conduct Authority to close a security loophole which allows criminals to make ‘ tap and go’ payments on contactless cards months after they have been cancelled.

The Commons Treasury select committee accused banks of placing customers in an ‘unacceptable situation’ of being vulnerable to fraud despite reporting their card lost or stolen.

In a letter written to the committee and published today, the chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority, John Griffith- Jones, said the regulator is already working with banks to provide more protection for customers.

He said measures being looked at include ‘removing any onus on customers to identify fraudulent transactions’, and working on bolstering banks’ systems to ‘reduce the likelihood of post-cancellation fraud’. He added that banks could also make the option of having a non-contactless card ‘more visible’ if a customer is concerned about the security risks. Banks typically issue contactless cards automatically when a card expires, or is lost or stolen, unless instructed otherwise. However, Barclaycard, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest only offer contactless cards, while Santander says customers can opt out of receiving a contactless card when they first apply.

The security fears of contactless cards have increased as their popularity has soared. There are 101.8million in circulation, with spending more than tripling to £25billion last year. Their security flaw stems from the fact that contactless payments are automatically approved without the till connecting to the customer’s bank to check a card is valid.

This means that it can still be used to make contactless payments months after it has been cancelled.

The problem is compounded because most banks do not tell their customers when their cancelled card is used, relying on people trawling through statements to identify fraudulent payments before they can receive a refund.

In a statement issued earlier today, the committee chairman Andrew Tyrie said it was ‘unreasonable’ to expect customers to ‘comb through their bank statements months after they have instructed their banks to block their lost or stolen cards’. He said the FCA needed to ‘sort this out’.

Richard Koch of The UK Cards Association said: ‘The industry is not complacent and measures to address issues affecting a small number of contactless cards will be implemented by the end of June.’

A Barclaycard spokesman said: ‘Barclaycard does not offer noncontactless credit cards as we believe contactless payments are integral to ensuring our customers are able to pay conveniently, securely and quickly for small value items if they choose to use this function.

‘If a customer’s card is lost or stolen they are always protected against any fraudulent activity.’