ECB reports an overall increase in Card Fraud, although fraud at ATMs is down

The European Central Bank (ECB) has just published its 4th Report on Card Fraud, covering 2013.  The report analyses developments in fraud related to card payment schemes (CPSs) in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and covers almost the entire card market.

The total value of fraudulent transactions conducted using cards issued within SEPA and acquired worldwide amounted to €1.44 billion in 2013, which represented an increase of 8% from 2012. In relative terms (i.e. as a share of the total value of transactions) fraud rose by 0.001 percentage point to 0.039% in 2013, up from 0.038% in 2012.  66% of the value of fraud resulted from card-not-present (CNP) payments (i.e. payments via the internet, post or telephone), 20% from transactions at POS terminals and 14% from transactions at ATMs.

The increase was due to CNP fraud, which saw €958 million in fraud losses in 2013. ATM and POS fraud fell –  card fraud committed at ATMs was down 13.7% when compared to 2012, the first time in four years that ATM fraud fell, while fraud committed at POS terminals was down by 7.9%.

The lower level of ATM fraud was due mainly to a substantial decrease in card-not-received and counterfeit fraud for this category. Counterfeit fraud accounted for 45% of the value of fraud at ATMs and POS terminals, while fraud using lost or stolen cards made up 43%. As observed in previous years, counterfeit fraud was predominant for transactions acquired in countries outside SEPA.

The full report can be downloaded from the ECB website.