Visa launches Future of Security Roadmap for Bangladesh

Visa, one of the world's leaders in digital payments, has launched its Future of Security Roadmap for Bangladesh, with a detailed plan to further strengthen payment security in the coming three years. 

This blueprint includes ensuring a higher level of security by all local issuers of Visa credentials.

The roadmap also envisages updated technology adoption to further secure the ecosystem and clients, strengthening their capabilities by deploying real-time fraud monitoring tools.

While virtually launching the Future of Security Roadmap on Wednesday, Visa's Head of Risk for Asia Pacific Joe Cunningham said, "The global pandemic has driven more consumers and businesses across the world to adopt digital commerce. As new users get more familiar with digital payments, whether paying online or with a contactless card at a store, it is important that the experience is convenient, fast, and secure." 

"Payment security is Visa's top priority and having a set of common goals for the industry is crucial to helping build long-term trust in digital payments," he added.

"Visa's Future of Security Roadmap for Bangladesh will help the ecosystem here in meeting global standards and best practices. We thank all our partners for supporting this shared vision and working with us to promote the greater use of digital payments in the coming years," he continued.

According to Visa, it has successfully prevented $25 billion in annual fraud by using artificial intelligence, making the global payment ecosystem safer for retailers and consumers. 

It has kept global fraud rates at historic lows–less than 0.1%–through a multi-layered approach of: investing in human intelligence and technology; empowering consumers and clients with tools, resources, and control to manage risk; and setting governance processes to help businesses and regulators stay nimble, Visa added.

According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, as of July this year, the country's banks have issued nearly 2.22 crore cards–around two crore debit cards and around 16 lakh credit cards. The remaining six lakh are prepaid cards but there is no specific data on the number of visa cards. 

In July, ATM transactions made by all types of cards were of Tk17,341 crore, point of sale transactions were of Tk1,413 crore, and e-commerce transactions were of Tk640 crore. 

Commenting on the launch, Visa's Group Country Manager for India and South Asia TR Ramachandran said, "Security of consumer and payment data has always been the highest priority for Visa. Building this trust at a time when new consumers and businesses are going digital is a shared responsibility between payment networks, consumers, banks, and the government." 

"New technology brings new ways to pay as well as new and unique risks, and to stay ahead of fraud, we need to work together and invest in security the same way we invest in innovations and consumer experience. We are proud to launch Bangladesh Future of Security Roadmap as the groundwork to achieve this balance between security and experience," he added.

While Visa's roadmap focuses on a number of initiatives to enable security to evolve at the same pace as the technologies are changing the way people pay, the core tenets of the roadmap include devaluing data by removing sensitive payment data from the ecosystem and rendering stolen account details useless. 

The other features of the service are protecting data by implementing safeguards to protect personal data as well as account details, harnessing data by identifying potential fraud before it occurs and increases confidence in approving good transactions and empowering everyone–including account holders and merchants–to play an active role in securing payments.

Visa works with industry stakeholders–including financial institutions, merchants, regulators, policymakers and law enforcement agencies– to secure payments. 

The Visa Future of Security Roadmap is the product of comprehensive consultations and collaboration, making it an authoritative document on the security of payments in Bangladesh.