· More than 25 million credit and debit cards now signed up to secure online payment systems Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode - an increase of nearly 600% in the past two years
· Over 1.5m cards registered every month – an increase of 650% compared with two years ago
· Payments industry continues to encourage cardholders to sign up and make their cards safer when shopping online

Figures released today (22 September 2008) by APACS, the UK payments association, reveal that more than 25 million UK-issued debit and credit cards have now been registered with MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa – online payment systems that make cards more secure when shopping on the internet.

Cardholder registration with these schemes has increased by 150 per cent in the last twelve months - from 10 million registered cards in August 2007, and by nearly 600 per cent in the last two years - from 3.6 million registered cards in August 2006.

Using these services is quick and easy. Cardholders sign up and choose a private password, which they then use when shopping online at participating retailers. This provides cardholders with:

· Greater protection against the unauthorised use of their card for online purchases
· A straightforward and hassle-free service that fits neatly into the familiar online buying process
· Enhanced online security without the need for any additional software

The latest figures also show that over 1.5 million cardholders are registering their cards with these secure online payment systems every month, up from a figure of 200,000 per month two years ago - an increase of 650 per cent.

Cardholders can sign up to Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode at the website of the bank or card company that issues their card, or when they are shopping at participating merchants. More and more online retailers are introducing these secure systems, and those that have currently handle approximately one third of the value of all the UK’s online shopping.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, said:

“Shopping online is now very much part of our everyday life and it is excellent news that more than 25 million cards have registered with MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa. This is an important milestone as it means that more than half of all online shoppers have now registered their cards. The banking industry continues to urge those cardholders not yet signed up to do so, as we all need to play our part to make life harder for online shopping fraudsters.”

For further information about Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode please visit www.shopsafeonline.org.uk which details how to sign up to these systems and contains a free-to-download Paying Safely Online advice guide.

Later this year APACS will also launch a new campaign, designed to help protect cardholders from fraudsters when shopping online in the run-up to Christmas. This campaign will help inform consumers how they can ‘Be Card Smart Online’.

ENDS

For further information contact the APACS Press Office on 020 7711 6251

Notes to editors:

1 APACS is the trade body that gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. We help manage the way that businesses and individuals in the UK move their money around - this covers cash, credit and debit cards, cheques and automated payments such as Direct Debits, salary payments and the new Faster Payments Service launched on 27th May for online/phone banking transactions and standing orders. We lead the fight against banking fraud and twice a year we publish figures on payment industry fraud losses.

2 Online shopping card fraud losses on cards is part of the card-not-present fraud total of £290.5 million. In 2007 the amount of card-not-present fraud that took place over the internet is estimated at £223.8 million – 77% of total card-not-present fraud losses. This figure has gone up by 45% from 2006, when internet losses were £154.5 million and accounted for 73% of card-not-present fraud losses.