MasterCard announced early last week that they would be providing U.S. cardholders with greater protections from fraud and identity theft. According to Chris Wilton, president of the North American Markets for MasterCard, all MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid, and small business will now be covered by MasterCard’s zero liability policy for fraudulent transactions. Although users currently have zero liability for signature debit and credit transactions, this announcement extends the protections to PIN-based and ATM transactions. All of these cards will also now carry Identity Theft Resolution assistance. This will help cancel missing cards and alert credit agencies in the event of unauthorized transactions or suspicious activity. In addition, restrictions will be lifted in the zero - liability policy. Accounts will no longer have to be in good standing to qualify or have fewer than three previous fraud problems within the past year.
The new program is expected to start in October. This change marks an improvement in consumer protection as the U.S. industry makes the switch to EMV technology. And as the 2nd largest global transaction network, many are hoping that Visa and other big banks will make some changes to improve their fraud protection programs too.
Source: Yahoo Finance
