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Visa's Inc. is using its transaction-authorization system to enable instant card-account alerts sent via e-mail or short message service messaging as part of the test it announced yesterday with eight North American financial institutions (CardLine, 8/18), Pam Zuercher, Visa head of global product innovation, tells CardLine. During the test, Visa will send instant text messages to approximately 2,000 cardholders from PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank Inc., U.S. Bancorp, Wachovia Corp., and Wells Fargo Bank in the United States, and Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group and Vancity in Canada. "Having that account information is powerful for the cardholder when delivered in a timely manner," Zuercher says. Visa expects the test to run through the end of the year. Zuercher says the instant alerts enable cardholders to contact their banks immediately regarding unauthorized transactions. Participating cardholders can customize alerts to notify them of ATM cash withdrawals, transactions initiated in other countries, or purchases made over the Internet or by telephone, according to Visa. Cardholders also can receive alerts when a transaction exceeds a maximum amount they previously selected. Visa tested the service last year during an internal employee test, according to the company. Visa will evaluate the service for the rest of the year and make any changes necessary before a commercial rollout, Zuercher says. All Visa issuers have the option to offer the service, she says.
