Payment card fraud rate down in Australia

Figures released by the Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet), the payments industry self-regulatory body, show the rate of card fraud for the 12 months to 31 December was 72.8 cents per AU$1,000 of card spending, down from 75.0c per AU$1,000 in the previous period.

The data also show a decline in the growth of card-not-present (CNP) fraud, which occurs when stolen card details are used to make online or phone transactions. The increase in CNP fraud in 2018 was 2.4%, compared to 13.9% the previous year. At AU$488m, CNP fraud accounted for 84.9% of all card fraud in 2018, steady on the previous period.

Australians are not liable for any fraudulent transactions on their payment cards and will be reimbursed where they have taken due care. Growth of 2.3% in all types of card fraud during the year, to AU$574m, was significantly outstripped by 5.4% growth in card spending overall, to AU$789bn. The improved card fraud figures come as online retailers and payments service providers adjust to a new framework for reducing CNP fraud that took effect on 1 July.

Developed after close consultation with financial institutions, retailers, card schemes and other e-commerce participants, the CNP Fraud Mitigation Framework includes targets for card issuers to reduce CNP fraud and increased use of multi-factor authentication in verifying online transactions.