March 8, 2006

The latest step in the fight agains credit card fraud has just been taken by the Co-operative Bank.

The Co-operative Bank has just launched a trial in three of their stores in Oxford using a unique “pay & touch” method of payment.

The consumer instead of supplying a signature or a personal identification number (PIN) will instead be asked to provide a fingerprint to complete their purchase.

The “pay & touch” system is similar to a set up successfully used in America with 2.5 million customers already using it.

Each customer would have their fingerprints stored on a database. Their details are linked to their bank account, therefore there is no need for or cash. Once a purchase has been made the consumers fingerprints are scanned, checked against the database and finally their bank account is charged.

The system has obvious benefits in credit card fraud reduction. There is no need to remember a PIN and it would be impossible for anyone to forge a fingerprint.

Co-operative bank have announced the the system will be free to customers and said, "It offers us a slight edge over the competition.

"It's a very tough retail world and anything we can do to encourage more people to shop with us gives us a commercial benefit."

The new “pay & touch” system is unlikely to be used by many retailers due to the excessive start up costs incurred, however, the Co-operative bank must be aplauded for the radical step they have taken to protect their customers.