Visa Vietnam announced on Thursday that everyone including accountholders, third party providers and merchants would be empowered to play an active role in securing payments.

It was one of four initiatives the company outlined in the “Future of Security” roadmap it launched.

Visa said the roadmap focuses on a number of key initiatives that would enable security to evolve at the same pace as the technologies changing the way of paying.

Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa’s country manager for Viet Nam and Laos, said: “Securing the commerce eco-system is our highest priority and one we view as a shared responsibility between payment networks, consumers, banks, and the Government.

“Technology has enabled new innovative ways to pay and be paid, but it has also brought unique risks. To stay ahead of fraud, we need to work together and give security the same attention and investment as we do the innovations driving new e-commerce experiences.”

The other three initiatives are devaluing data by removing sensitive data from the eco-system, thus making stolen account details useless; protecting data by implementing safeguards to protect personal data as well as account details and harnessing data by identifying potential fraud before it occurs and increase confidence in approving good transactions.

The release of Visa’s roadmap comes at a time of rapid change for payments in Viet Nam with innovations such as mobile payments set to enhance the payment experience for consumers.

According to Visa’s study titled Consumer Payment Attitude, security remains a key consideration for consumers across Southeast Asia with 67 per cent concerned about the safety of their personal information when using their mobile phones to make payments.

Asked specifically about what their top three concerns were, consumers in Viet Nam said losing their phone or having their phone stolen, the phone getting hacked or someone intercepting data and malware or viruses being installed on the phone.

Visa works with industry stakeholders including financial institutions, merchants, policy makers, law enforcement, and accountholders to secure payments.

The Visa Future of Security Roadmap is a product of comprehensive consultations and collaboration, making it an authoritative document on Vietnam payments security.

Visa is delivering roadmaps around the world to ensure the security of the global commerce eco-system and in Viet Nam also working with industry bodies to align security initiatives. — VNS