Australia's Commonwealth Bank has added both the Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode online authentication programmes to its e-commerce payment service, CommWeb.
The bank is the first in Australia to launch both initiatives, which authenticates cardholders at the point of purchase with a password.
Bruce Munro, executive general manager, working capital services, Commonwealth Bank, says the programmes will provide an extra level of protection for customers shopping online.
"Only you can use your online password and this gives you a level of protection similar to that achieved when you use your card in a physical store," says Munro.
Commonwealth Bank says the scheme will cut the risk of unauthorised card use for customers while online merchants will benefit from a reduction in fraud exposure and chargeback liability.
There are currently 20 CommWeb online merchants enabled with the schemes.