In the wake of the legal action taken by online seller Easy Computers against HSBC after a number of fraudulent transactions cost the company £18,000, the BRC claimed it was vital that banks work more closely with retailers on the issue.

A spokeswoman for the BRC called on banks not to simply “charge back” the cost of the fraud on to retailers, whose rapidly expanding sector brings considerable business to credit cards.

“Many online retailers find it difficult to absorb the extra costs incurred by charge backs and accept the risks associated with ‘card not present’ transactions,” she said.

She asserted that “retailers need support” and they should be able to rely more on banks to investigate fraudulent credit card transactions.

“Whilst banks do not have to accept liability, it is still their responsibility to ensure that their security systems are effective and are not being breached,” she stated.

She added that the increasing focus of banks and retailers on the introduction of chip and pin is making in-roads into eliminating card fraud from face-to-face transactions.
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