Secure Payments Partnership Brings Together Retail and Payment Network Leaders for First Time
WASHINGTON DC, June 5, 2018 – Retail and payments industry leaders today announced the formation of the Secure Payments Partnership (SPP), a unique partnership formed to promote security across the payments system. SPP marks the first time these interests representing diverse parts of the payments system have joined forces to address the ongoing battle against payment fraud and devise improvements for the U.S. card payment system.
SPP founding members include the Food Marketing Institute, National Retail Federation, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Grocers Association, First Data’s STAR Network and SHAZAM.
SPP was formed to anticipate new and better technologies for making payments that are secure and fast. As it currently stands, the United States lags behind the rest of the world in card payment security as the two largest card networks control and set payment security standards without the expertise of others, including competing card networks, merchants, consumers and financial institutions. SPP believes all parties involved must work together in order to achieve successful payment security, increase transparency, and limit fraud. A survey from the Aite Group and ACI Worldwide showed that 42 percent of U.S. cardholders (including debit, credit and prepaid cards) have experienced card fraud, compared with 27 percent of cardholders globally.
“Payment security and the threats to it are only becoming more complex,” said Hugh Gallagher, First Data SVP and Head of STAR Network. “No single industry has all the answers to get us to where we need to be. We must work collaboratively with input from all parties with a stake in the outcome, in order to improve payment security and limit fraud.”
The Partnership will also focus on meeting consumer expectations for security, convenience and flexibility in payment options, especially as new technologies evolve and emerge.
“The payments system has to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology and the needs of consumers and commerce,” said Stephanie Martz, SVP and General Counsel of the National Retail Federation. “The U.S. payments infrastructure should be the strongest, most innovative and most secure in the world, but we won’t get there unless we change the way we make security decisions.”
In recent years, a multitude of new technologies have been introduced to increase security, including mobile and wearable payments, biometrics (such as fingerprints, facial recognition, iris scanning and vein mapping), the use of artificial intelligence, geolocation, IP verification, blockchain, ultrasonic sound waves, and others. SPP looks to harness these technologies to benefit all users.
“As innovation and technology continue to evolve and offer new ways to authenticate, we are committed to working in concert with our partners to address shortcomings in the payments system,” said Dan Kramer, SVP, Government and Community Affairs at SHAZAM. “We look forward to working across the industry and with policymakers in Washington to implement real solutions.”
The group will emphasize several priority areas including stronger user authentication, open standard setting and adoption, payment security innovation and network routing competition.
More information is available at securepaymentspartnership.com and by following SPP on Twitter and Facebook.
About The Secure Payments Partnership
The Secure Payments Partnership is a coalition of retailers and debit networks that have joined together to promote greater security and transparency across the payments system. SPP members include the Food Marketing Institute, National Retail Federation, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Grocers Association, First Data’s STAR Network and SHAZAM.
