Card fraud in Europe reaches new high

Card fraud has reached in new high in Europe, with France and Greece leading the list, Russia being the fastest growing.

FICO, a predictive analytics and decision management software maker has a new analysis of card fraud in Europe showing that card fraud losses in 2013 for the 19 European countries studied reached €1.55bn. This figure was a new high, and slightly more than the previous peak in 2008, according to data supplied by Euromonitor International.

While the UK experienced £450m in losses, the highest level since 2008, both France and Greece had higher ratios of fraud losses to card sales, at 7 basis points (.07 percent). The fastest growth of card fraud losses in Europe occurred in Russia, where losses have jumped nearly 28% since 2012.

"When fraud losses peaked in 2008, UK issuers sharply reduced card fraud through chip and PIN and fraud analytics," said Martin Warwick, a principal fraud consultant at FICO in EMEA, who provided the commentary for the map. "However, tougher fraud detection policies and thresholds also block more genuine transactions, and now the focus for UK banks and regulators is very much on improving the customer experience. To counteract the resulting increase in fraud, we're beginning to see issuers look to such technologies as interactive, automated customer communication services that contact customers in real time when a ransaction triggers a fraud alert. This technology helps balance the need to protect customers from fraud with the need to provide a positive purchase experience."

The UK and France suffered 62% of the total fraud losses for the 19 countries in the fraud map, reflecting their higher rates of card usage, which make them targets for criminals. Ten of the countries saw a rise in fraud compared to 2012, while nine stayed the same or saw reduced losses.