For those who might be interested...

[mrph]

High street bank Barclays plans to issue hand-held card readers to all of its 1.6 million active online banking customers to tighten security and combat identity theft.

The firm will provide the standalone calculator-sized two-factor authentication devices throughout 2007.

Comments

On a similar note

[davefish.livejournal.com]

I've been reading this syndicated feed which you might also be interested in.

[tenuous.livejournal.com]

Full marks to Barclays for being security-minded. I wish Lloyds was so thorough.

Not sure how convenient this is for users though? As you'll have to have your card-reader with you it diminishes the 24/7 nature of net-banking?

Just one more potential electronic detonation device for the airlines to peer suspiciously at when I travel, I suppose.

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

Because obviously that's a much higher cause of fraud than those horrendously broken, broken, broken chip & pin cards.

If Barclays insist on making me use one of these, I'll switch banks. If the card reader is at home, how the hell will I do online banking at work? On holiday? From the hotel on business? What a bag'o'shite.

Shame all the other banks are just as clueless.

If someone could just give Visa and Mastercard a kick up the arse...

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Online fraud us going up at a fairly impressive rate. There also seems to be a shift from email scams to trojans and more subtle devices.

As to whether these will be compulsory... I guess we have to wait and see. They might just be a tool to enhance what the bank feels you can 'safely' do online.