First Data Corporation is to provide European card issuers with First Alert, a power-dialling, natural language voice authentication system developed in association with Adeptra and designed to help in the earlier detection of payment card fraud.
First Alert automates the repetitive tasks undertaken by human contact centre staff by telephoning cardholders in suspected fraud cases, trying all contact numbers in turn, based on rules set by the issuer. Once located by the system, cardholders are authenticated using natural language speech technology and are asked to verify any suspect purchases. Fraudulent transactions are referred for further investigation.
Richard Cooper, client consultancy director at First Data, says: "First Alert allows our clients' fraud agents to talk to more cardholders that have had fraud perpetrated against their cards sooner, helping us to detect fraud earlier."
The First Alert system is already in production in the US and is now being luanched in Europe.
First Data's launch of the technology coincides with the release of new figures from CardWatch that show a spiralling rise in the incidence of card fraud in the UK.