ETA Updates Congress on Payments Industry Security

January 27, 2014 –  The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing more than 500 of the nation’s leading payments and technology companies, today sent a letter to congressional leaders updating Congress on the robust capabilities of payments systems to address the growing threat of cybercrime and data breaches.

The letter stressed the importance of collaboration among the payments and retail industries. Merchants play an important role in securing their points of access to our nation’s payments infrastructure, and it is imperative that merchants take significant steps to upgrade their systems, particularly in the wake of recent breaches. ETA stated it stands ready to work with merchants to ensure consumer data is protected at the point of sale.

The letter also reiterated the payments industry’s support for a uniform, national standard for data breach notification, bringing clarity for companies that maintain data and consumers who may be harmed by criminal breaches. Currently, 46 state laws create an untenable patchwork of obligations that can prevent consumers from getting timely access to information.

“The best and fastest way to protect the safety and security of consumer’s financial data is to allow the marketplace to innovate, rather than add to heavy existing regulations from 20 federal agencies and 50 states; and for Congress to set a uniform national standard for reporting financial data security breaches”, ETA CEO Jason Oxman stated.

The more than five hundred members of ETA are the first line of defense for consumers to avoid the fraud perpetuated by cybersecurity attacks by global criminals. Even where a retailer is breached, our payments systems are designed to protect consumers with zero liability and fraud prevention and detection tools.

Click here to access the letter.

Contact:

Meghan Cieslak
202.677.7406
[email protected]

 

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