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Issuers may use Orbiscom's disposable numbers on debit card

Cardline
July 2006

Software developer Orbiscom is holding discussions with several unnamed U.S. banks about applying the software developer's single use, disposable credit card numbers to online transactions made with signature debit cards, Diane Shaib, the company¹s executive vice president, tells CardLine.

Credit cardholders use the disposable numbers to protect themselves from fraud and ID theft in online purchases. Shaib says that debit card use on the Internet will surpass credit card use next year. Jupiter Research concurred in its March research report 'U.S. Online Payments Forecast, 2005 to 2010'. Still, Jupiter found that many consumers would continue to use credit cards because they believe credit is more secure than debit.

'That's partly because consumers are comfortable with credit, and partly because zero liability policies have been promoted so effectively by Visa, MasterCard and their member issuers,' according to Edward Kountz, Jupiter's lead analyst.

Shaib says Orbiscom's Controlled Payment Numbers will offer the same protection to debit cardholders it provides for credit cardholders.

French issuer Carte Bleue and French bank Societe Generale use Controlled Payment Numbers to protect debit users. In the U.S., credit card issuers Discover, Citi Cards and Bank of America use the software, which is marketed under different names by each of the issuers. The software creates a single use, disposable number linked to the cardholder's actual card number. When the cardholder is about to complete an online transaction, the software intervenes, providing a disposable number, Shaib says. Orbiscom is based in Dublin, Ireland.

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