Co-op Group appoints ACI Worldwide to safeguard payment security

Following a report into customer payment habits, the Co-operative Group has chosen ACI Worldwide to run its card payments processing operations and maximise card data security across all of its...

Following a report into customer payment habits, the Co-operative Group has chosen ACI Worldwide to run its card payments processing operations and maximise card data security across all of its UK food stores and fuel sites.

ACI Worldwide is a global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking technology. The Group will use its Merchant Payments system to secure payment data with the latest version of its point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenisation capabilities.

Mobile payment is predicted to outstrip cash and card by 2025
Mobile payment is predicted to outstrip cash and card by 2025

P2PE is an emerging encryption technique that protects sensitive cardholder data as it is transmitted from  store to bank. P2PE converts a consumer’s confidential credit and debit card data into indecipherable codes when the card is read by the payment terminal, preventing theft and fraud.

The system is expected to go live across all Group stores in early 2017.

“Against the backdrop of numerous high profile data breaches in Europe and the US, protecting customer data is imperative for many retailers, such as the Co-op, which is utilising ACI to help ensure its customer data remains secure,” said Andrew Quartermaine, head of merchant retail at ACI Worldwide.

“Using the latest version of P2PE and tokenisation will not only increase card security, but also put retailers ahead of the curve in terms of regulatory changes, especially as P2PE is likely to be mandated in the near future.”

Retail report suggests by 2025, 65% of all transactions will be done by mobile phone

In April, the Group published The Way We Pay report, which predicted the demise of cash payments over the next 10 years – and the growth of mobile payments to make up 65% of transactions by 2025. Contactless transactions at the organisation have tripled over the last 12 months, recently topping almost 11 million transactions in a month.

The Group has moved to alleviate concerns over payment security
The Group has moved to alleviate concerns over payment security

As consumers’ confidence in contactless payments increases, more mobile payment options are becoming available. Apple Pay launched last summer, and Google’s Android Pay and Samsung’s mobile equivalent are expected later this year.

Despite this growth, the Group found there are still consumer concerns over security. The average spend for contactless payments in convenience stores is £8.66 compared with an average of £18.16 when using chip and PIN, even though the limit on contactless payments is now £30.

“The security of our customers’ data is of paramount importance to us,” said Cheryl Marshall, retail chief information officer at the Group.

“We believe ACI Worldwide’s UP Merchant Payments solution offers us not only the payment processing power we require, but also the flexibility to meet our needs in the future.”

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