A significant reduction in payment fraud is expected next year with yesterday’s decision by the ACCC to grant authorisation to Visa and MasterCard to abolish the use of signatures for purchases over $100. From 1 July 2014 consumers will be better protected by needing to enter their PIN for credit and debit card transactions to be approved.

“Tyro welcomes and supports the move by the ACCC to have mandatory PIN transactions. With our Australian first mobile integrated EFTPOS solution we have long been ready for this change, while the big banks have not,” said Jost Stollmann, CEO of Tyro Payments.

It is expected that Australia’s 14,000 cafes and restaurants, their staff and customers will be affected the most by the changes, with customers now forced to leave their seats to pay for bills at the cashier using their four digit PIN code. However, Tyro has been recognised as leading the charge on ensuring that customers are not unnecessarily inconvenienced by the change.

“Tyro was well ahead of the industry pack when it came to considering how customers would be impacted and have been working tirelessly to ensure customers and businesses wouldn’t be adversely affected,” said Mr Stollmann. Last year Tyro worked closely with key software providers to develop Australia’s first and only, all IP based, integrated “pay at table” solution.

The solution establishes a conversation between the restaurant management software and the payment terminal and allows the consumers to use the device at their table at their own pace to split the bill, pay and tip using their four digit PIN.“While mobile terminals are nothing new, their adoption in restaurants was lacklustre to say the least. Australians spend a huge $10 billion¹ annually dining out at cafes and restaurants and struggling retailers can’t afford to alienate their customers.

“Our solution is supported by diners, restaurant staff and restaurant managers – who no longer have to spend lonely nights, after staff have gone home, punching numbers into terminals to process tips. “VISA and MasterCard are spending a lot of money to educate the public about the importance of being ‘PIN-Wise’, but are ultimately not addressing the real issue of putting the customer first and ensuring they are not more inconvenienced by the payment process,” Mr Stollmann said.

Mr Stollmann said that the PIN requirement put the customer back in control.“It’s virtually impossible for a fraudster to ascertain a PIN, while forging a signature is easy. “Using chip card technology and PIN entry is an effective method to stamp out card theft and skimming and the share of fraud in face-to-face transactions. Our wireless integrated pay at table EFTPOS system is a perfect complement to eliminating credit card signatures.“Tyro’s mobile terminals revolutionise the customer paying experience and makes restaurant staff and owners lives much easier,” Mr Stollmann said.

Yesterday, the ACCC granted ‘authorisation² to Visa and MasterCard to allow them, together with American Express and Participating Financial Institutions, to coordinate in relation to the removal of signatures as a method of authentication for most credit card transactions that are completed in person.’

[1] http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8655.0Main%20Features32006-07?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=8655.0&issue=2006-07&num=&view=
[2] http://registers.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1120516/fromItemId/278039/display/acccDecision

Need to know more?

For more about this news story please contact:
Monica Appleby, Head of Corporate Communications on 0466 598 946 or mappleby@tyro.com
Sophie Cotterill, Corporate Communications Manager on 0414 960 292 or scotterill@tyro.com