Visa, MasterCard say thousands of card issuers join secure payment programs
More than 8,000 credit card issuers have joined Visa’s Verified by Visa secure payments program, while more than 2,400 have joined MasterCard’s similar SecureCode program, the credit card associations say. The programs have also signed up hundreds of merchants, though numbers on participating cardholders are difficult to determine because those records are kept by individual card issuers.
MasterCard, whose SecureCode program is the newer of the two programs, is beginning to see merchants sign up in larger numbers, a spokeswoman says. "They’re coming on quickly now," she says. MasterCard listed six participating U.S. merchants as of this morning at SecureCode.com: Office Max, BlueNile.com, eTronics.com, Crutchfield.com, 1010Tires.com and computer retailer TigerDirect.com. But others are already signed up to join, including Continental Airlines, the spokesman adds.
MasterCard also lists more than 20 participating merchants in Spain, plus several others in Australia, Belgium and Germany. Many more foreign-based retailers are also expected to join soon, the spokeswoman says.
Visa lists hundreds of participating U.S. merchants, including major retailers like JCPenney.com, Overstock.com, TheSportsAuthority.com, CompUSA.com and 1800Flowers.com. It did not make available figures on foreign merchants.
Back...
