Meet MotionCode, the high-tech bank card that will eliminate online fraud

Digital financial fraud is at an all-time high, affecting over half a million people within the first two quarters of 2016 alone. The issue is so prevalent that banking institutions accept a certain degree of loss related to online fraud in their bid to protect customers from what’s viewed as an inherent cost of doing business. Chiefly responsible are the cards themselves; there’s little to stop a fraudster’s spending spree once they’ve learned your credit number — at least, until you’ve been notified. Two French banks are now testing a new high-tech e-bank card that aims to improve the online security through the use of an ephemeral security code.

Bearing a striking resemblance to your standard chip-enabled card, the new cards feature a dynamic card security code — the code on the back of your card — that changes every hour for three years. The only distinguishing factor is that cards equipped with MotionCode , the name of the patented technology, feature a miniature electronic display on the back of the card where the CSC code is present. Refreshing the code at an hourly rate deters the vast majority of frauds, which typically occur within a few hours or days of obtaining the credit details — not immediately.

MotionCode was developed by the French digital security company Oberthur Technologies as the next evolution in card security beyond the chip. The practice is no different than manually copying the three digits from the back of your card, but with an additional layer of security. Integration is extremely streamlined, embodying a pick-up-and-play mentality that extends to both the user and the seller. Cardholders don’t have to install any specific browser plug-ins to use the card, nor do they have to press a button on the card; code refresh timing is defined by the card issuer. Similarly, e-merchants won’t have to modify their websites to accept the card either, as the cryptogram code used by the card is the same as the standard one.

So, how can you obtain a card? MotionCode is not yet ready for mass deployment; the only two banks offering the card as of yet are France’s two largest banking groups, Société Générale and Groupe BPCE. But this may change in the near future as there are a number of pilot programs currently underway in Poland and Mexico. Aaron Davis, Business Director of Oberthur Technologies UK & Ireland, hopes to have a pilot up and running in the UK soon. If the trials prove as successful as the first batch from 2015, then we may see MotionCode proliferation within the near future.

Source: TheMemor.com via Oberthur