Abstract
NEW RESEARCH REPORT BY MERCATOR ADVISORY GROUP
There are more than 1.53 Billion electronic payment credit and debit cards in
use around the world. Technologies supporting electronic purchases and
transfers of funds range from magnetic stripe to microprocessor-based radio
frequency (RF). As with all facets of commerce, criminals and fraudsters
abound, seeking illicit gain wherever weaknesses in payment systems can be
found, and because the electronic payments is immensely complex and
widespread, opportunities for abuse are easily discovered.
Canada is no exception for this trend. As the Canadian card market grew over
the past 25 years, so did the number of cards reported lost or stolen and the
number of cards that are fraudulently used. The statistics from the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police show credit card fraud has been growing since 2002 and
is now a significant problem throughout the country and cost businesses
hundreds of millions of dollar' s.
In order to address these challenges, the Canadian payments industry
participants including the Interac Association, MasterCard Canada Inc., Visa
Canada Association, and many of their respective card issuers and acquirers,
announced a firm commitment to a broad industry migration to chip technology.
"From the most basic local produce market to the most complex financial
market, many market structures around the globe are built on trust, and
electronic payment markets are no exception. As individual consumers get more
connected with the help of modern communication technologies, mass and
alternative media channels, negative news surrounding a payment method such as
credit cards can reach credit card users in the blink of an eye. Technologies
that are designed to secure electronic payments such as the EMV smart card
technology play an even more critical role in maintaining consumer confidence
and protecting the trust factor in electronic payments in today' s highly
connected and information-rich environment", comments Evren BAYRI,
Director of Mercator Advisory Group' s International Payments Advisory Service.
The most recent report from Mercator' s International Payments Advisory Service
discusses the shift from relatively vulnerable magnetic stripe payment cards
to more secure microprocessor-based smart cards in the Canadian market. The
report provides an overview of the state of the payment card market in Canada,
an analysis of the business case for Canada' s EMV migration project, an
in-depth analysis of the card fraud trends in the Canadian market, an
alternative view into the cost of fraud and its impact on payment card
markets, and a review of Canada' s EMV migration project timeline.
This report contains 25 pages and 12 exhibits.
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