Putting bankcard security control into the hands of the consumer, Diebold Inc. is providing a service that can enable cardholders to render their cards active or inactive with a text message from a mobile phone.
The Canton, Ohio-based ATM manufacturer and security-technology provider announced Oct. 12 it is offering Card Lock to users of MobiTransact, Diebold’s mobile-banking program.
The MobiTransact user can lock use of a bank debit card at ATMs or point-of-sale locations by texting “LockATM” or “Lock” to a designated number. Similarly, the user can send a text message to the designated number saying “Unlock” to open the card for use, according to a Diebold press release.
With the consumer having control over access to his card, the service helps promote consumer confidence in ATMs in the wake of increased card skimming and fraud across the globe at the terminals, Mark Reinart, Diebold manager of software and services product management, tells PaymentsSource.
Diebold refers to the use of mobile phones as an “out-of-band authentication channel” because they typically are not involved in the debit card transaction flow, Reinert says.
Card Lock works for any card the consumer has registered through his participating bank, and it would lock or unlock use of the card at any ATM or point-of-sale terminal, Reinart says.
Besides locking and unlocking use of the card, Card Lock also alerts the user when someone else is using his card information, Reinart adds.
“The consumer will receive a text message informing them that a transaction was attempted with their ATM card,” Reinart explains. “If the card owner forgot to unlock their card and they were the one trying to use their own card, they have the opportunity to unlock their card via text message.”
But the service proves its security value if that consumer happens to be sitting at a desk at work when the text message alerting card use is received, Reinart notes.
“They’re now aware of suspicious activity and possibly that their card is actually missing and can take appropriate action” by calling the bank, Reinart says.
Card Lock represents a “bolt-on” addition to MobiTransact instead of a new version of the mobile-banking application that links the mobile service with ATM channels, Reinart adds.
Diebold did not disclose the cost of the Card Lock user license fee, but it did say the financial institution could pay the fee or decide to pass it on to the consumer.
Enabling the consumer to decide how much security the card needs makes Card Lock an appealing and helpful feature, one analyst believes.
“It’s configurable security, depending on how much you are concerned about card safety,” Nicole Sturgill, research director and analyst with Needham, Mass.-based TowerGroup, tells PaymentsSource.
“You could lock it at all times, other than when you are using it. Or you can be as loose as you want to be and just lock it only if you have lost it or had it stolen,” Sturgill says.
Diebold addresses a key concern about what would happen if a consumer loses his mobile phone with the MobiTransact numbers stored by allowing him to “de-register” from the service by calling his bank, Sturgill says.
“Companies are just now figuring out how to use mobile capabilities to improve security because they were mostly used for money transfers and online banking,” Sturgill adds.
The launch of the Card Lock follows a month of testing at Diebold Federal Credit Union (
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