The European Central Bank has recently started a public consultation on the "Recommendations for the security of internet payments".
The paper was put together by the European Forum on the Security of Retail Payments, members of which include central banks of several European countries as well as representatives of payment service providers.
It stresses that the current view of regulators, legislators, PSP's and consumers is that internet payments are less secure and more prone to fraud than more traditional payments. According to Financial Fraud Action UK card-not-present fraud has now become the most widespread type of payment security breaches. For that reason the ECB wants to consult with the general public as well as any organisations and companies which might provide feedback or information to help improve the recommendations.
The ultimate aim of the report and the consultation is to establish a minimum level of security which is consistent across the Union. The one issue which the Forum of the Security sees as crucial is that in many countries cyber fraud is not even considered a crime at the moment. Because stolen card data is normally used for purchases in a country different to where it was obtained it is important that all parties involved can work across borders to stop fraudsters and protect consumers.
The recommendations in the consultation paper include steps which should help keep the processing of internet payments safer as well as asking for a better education and increasing the awareness of shoppers. The ECB hopes to then turn those into law which will hopefully be adopted by as many countries as possible.
It has been clear for a while that any single country solutions will not stop cyber-crime and the rapid growth in online shopping has certainly helped emphasise this point. Hopefully the legislation and required agreements will be put in place as soon as possible. This consultation is certainly a step in the right direction.
Any comments and recommendations can be submitted to the ECB by 20th June 2012.
You can read the full report here.