FNB cracks down on credit card fraud

By Rodney Weidemann for FNB
Johannesburg, 09 Mar 2004

As part of an ongoing zero tolerance approach to fraud, First National Bank (FNB) has adopted a suite of software that has helped it to reduce credit card fraud by some 40%.

FNB Card reports that it has improved its credit card fraud investigation processes, following the adoption of the Staffware Process Suite within its Card Fraud Investigation Business Unit, based in Johannesburg.

According to FNB Card CEO, Jan Kleynhans, the investigation processes were previously largely manual in nature, and entailed using computer printouts to check up to 20 000 transactions per day.

"This was not only labour intensive, but it could take up to four days, whereas by automating much of the process we have cut the number of daily transactions for investigation to 4 000, meaning that the process can be completed within hours," say Kleynhans.

"Obviously, the faster FNB Card is able to identify card fraud the quicker it is able to prevent further fraud taking place on the card."

He says that all card transactions are monitored on a daily basis, with suspicious transactions highlighted for further investigation. If necessary, the client is contacted to confirm whether the transaction is indeed a legal one.

The SPS system uses an automatic monitoring process to identify various possible fraudulent activities, such as counterfeit fraud, identity theft or the use of lost or stolen cards. It also highlights any large value transactions that do not fit the customer`s usual spending pattern.

"The benefits have been impressive with a five-fold increase in productivity, a 40% reduction in fraud losses, direct estimated savings of R300 000 a year in staff costs, an improved balance sheet, reduced telephone charges and significantly enhanced customer satisfaction," he says.

"While FNB`s zero-tolerance campaign has proven to be highly successful, fraud prevention is an ongoing process and technology needs to continually improve for us to stay one step ahead of the criminals."