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British Airways Teams up with Visa EU to Tackle Internet Fraud

Millions of Travellers to Benefit from Safer Online Bookings

London, 23rd February 2004

British Airways has made its website (www.ba.com) even more secure for customers after signing up to Visa's new payment card protection system, Verified by Visa.

 

British Airways has become the latest merchant in the airline sector to sign up to the online authentication service.  Airlines are one of the fastest growing online retail sectors accounting for almost 10% of online spending in the EU in the last quarter of 2003.

 

Verified by Visa is a password-protected system that guarantees cardholder identity. The service, provided to BA by CyberSource with Streamline International, has been available to BA customers in a pilot project since December 2nd 2003.

 

British Airways is joining over 10,000 retailers, 30 acquiring banks and 35 issuing banks across Europe that have now signed up for Verified by Visa.

 

British Airways is the UK's largest international scheduled airline, flying more than 38 million passengers to more than 220 destinations across the globe. In the last quarter of 2003, ba.com sales processed via VisaNet have increased by a multiple of 30, compared to the same time last year.

 

UK retailers will save an estimated £55 million a year by adopting Verified by Visa.  In addition, all participating retailers benefit from a "no fraud guarantee"** for online transactions regardless of whether the cardholder has signed up for the service or not.

 

Hugo Bottellier, Vice President Visa EU said: "British Airways is pivotal for Verified by Visa: it's a leader in its use of technology and the web and where it goes, others follow.  It is clear that BA customers appreciate having the ability to authenticate their purchases online.  Even in the pilot phase, the majority of customers have taken the opportunity to register with Verified by Visa, which demonstrates its instant appeal in providing a secure online purchasing environment.  With more household names like British Airways committing to the service, secure Internet shopping is fast becoming a reality."

 

To date, Verified by Visa has already been adopted by 80% of US banks, and the European rollout is gathering pace. Acquiring banks registered for Verified by Visa now cover more than 90% of UK e-commerce traffic. 

 

Simon Parks Smith, Head of E-Commerce at British Airways said: "Online bookings now account for 46% of our shorthaul, non-premium business in the UK and this figure will keep rising. The sheer volume of tickets processed via the Internet means that we're constantly striving to have the best security possible. We want to keep our customers using the web and encourage e-commerce newcomers to book with us in this way.  Verified by Visa is a natural step to achieve that goal."

ENDS

 

**Since 1st April 2002, European retailers offering Verified by Visa are no longer liable for cardholder not present chargebacks made by European cardholders where the cardholder denies authorising the transaction. This was extended to cover all cardholders on 1st April 2003.  Retailers will still be liable for other related chargebacks.

 

Notes to editors
For further information please visit www.visaeu.com/verified.

 

About Visa
Visa is one of the world's leading payment brands generating US$2.7 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organisation plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce-the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.visaeu.com.

 

About Verified by Visa
Verified by Visa is a new service that Visa has launched recently in the US and is currently rolling-out in the EU region. It is based on Visa's 3-D Secure technology and is a means of authenticating both the cardholder and merchant to ensure they are both who they say they are. It means that, when making a transaction, cardholders would confirm their identities using, for example, a password in the same way that today they provide their signature when shopping in the high street. The issuing bank authenticates the cardholder during the sale and notifies the merchant that the buyer is legitimate, increasing consumer confidence as the online shopping experience becomes a safer everyday occurrence.

 

About British Airways
British Airways is one of the world's longest established airlines and has always been regarded as an industry-leader. British Airways has recently embarked on developing a wide range of technology, which will make the airline even easier to deal with from a customer perspective including booking online and self-service.  Last year, more than 38 million people chose to fly with the airline on a route network which covers some 222 destinations in 93 countries.

 

About CyberSource
CyberSource Corporation is a leading provider of electronic payment and risk management solutions. CyberSource solutions enable electronic payment processing for Web, call centre/IVR, and POS environments and manage transaction risk associated with card-not-present transactions. CyberSource Professional Services designs, integrates, and optimises enterprise-wide commerce transaction systems. Approximately 3,000 businesses use CyberSource solutions, including over half of the Dow Jones Industrial companies. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has sales and service offices in Japan, the United Kingdom, and other locations in the United States. For more information, please visit CyberSource's web site at www.cybersource.com or email info@cybersource.com.

About Streamline International
"Established in 1992, Streamline International is a service provided by National Westminster Bank Plc, a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.  It provides multi-currency card payments processing services to merchants, banks and financial institutions across Europe, managing a portfolio of international blue chip clients in the industries of Travel, Entertainment, e-commerce and Mail/Telephone Order (MOTO).

Streamline International provides a complete multi-currency capability, processing card payments in over 100 currencies and making settlement in all major international currencies, including euro, US Dollar and Yen.

Streamline International is a global leader in multi-currency card payments processing with 11 years of experience in the industry.  For more information, please visit www.streamline-international.com

The Visa EU press office only deals with media enquiries relating to the organization's activities in the region. Journalists should email: europeanmedia@visa.com