RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.-Saying consumers want greater control over their payments cards, CO-OP Financial Services has introduced a service that allows members to use their smartphones to exercise greater control over their card usage.
Teaming with Ondot Systems of San Jose, Calif., CO-OP said the mobile card control service will do a lot more than allow cardholders to turn their plastic on and off.
"We are taking card control to the next level," said Caroline Willard, SVP-business development. "Now you can set thresholds-if you don't want your card used for transactions above a certain amount, you can restrict the type of merchants, and more. This is what I often call the college student control kit. If you don't want your kids using their card to pay for social media sites or online gaming, you simply don't allow that type of merchant to be used."
Sophisticated Fraud Prevention
The service also delivers a sophisticated fraud prevention feature that works with GPS-enabled phones. The service will send a real-time alert to the cardholder if the card is swiped and the mobile phone is not in the proximity of the card.
Willard said consumers all want real-time data and actionable alerts. "The analogy I use is that if you can get an alert from ESPN when your favorite baseball team scores, you can get an alert from your financial institution when your card is being used."
Members, too, will be able to perform specific self-service functions, including balance inquiries and funds transfers. Willard said the service will be available by the end of 2013. Future updates will include targeted offers at point-of-purchase. CO-OP plans to offer the optional solution to its debit and pass-through credit processing clients.
