Tag: Security

Security, Smart Cards5 Comments

6 years is too long for elimination of mag strip debit cards

Colin Henderson

We were just hit today with a case of fraud that affected my family personally, and it just validates my view that the security of our payments networks is a problem being swept under the carpet.  Every day, all banks contact thousands of customers to cancel their debit card because it was or may have been compromised.  This is a well kept secret, and has not made mainstream press yet. In our situation we actually were the card compromised, and I know enough about the card usage to narrow down the location of the compromise which is why this one … Continue reading 6 years is too long for elimination of mag strip debit cards

Security

Tower Group are right – US financial services firms have lost the battle to protect the personal information of customers

Colin Henderson

This is a sufficiently provocative headline that I can hardly ignore. Financial institutions have lost battle to protect customer data – TowerGroup | Finextra US financial services firms have lost the battle to protect the personal information of customers and must now assume that all their clients’ data has been, or will be, compromised, according to TowerGroup. First of all I agree with the headline.  The battle is largely lost;  I would go further, and hesitantly admit what few bankers will, that control over customers information never really existed.  Why do I say that? Consider how banks have evolved, which … Continue reading Tower Group are right – US financial services firms have lost the battle to protect the personal information of customers

Security2 Comments

Should the Fed be the 14th payment network, and how would that solve the problems?

Colin Henderson

President Kohn of the Kansas City Fed speaks at the ECB/De Nederlandsche Bank Conference conference in Frankfurt.  He argues for greater control by the Fed over the payments system.  While his outline of problems makes sense, they also describe the failure of the current system, and the lack of foresight from the existing controls, and its unclear that the proposed solution from them will have any impact other than exacerbating those problems.  The problems he describes are real and more importantly consumer facing.  They are also imho problems that large banks could address given their scale and the opportunity for … Continue reading Should the Fed be the 14th payment network, and how would that solve the problems?