Alert and spending control features enabled at the processor level give issuers and program managers an efficient, cost-effective way to bring to market, advanced card features that mitigate fraud risks and give consumers more visibility and control over their account activity.

New feature enhancements include purse-level controls that give cardholders more options when implementing budgets and spend controls, and advanced real-time alerts triggered by geo-location, context, and external events, which represents a significant innovation over current transaction and account-based alerts.

i2c’s latest multi-pursing and purse controls help consumers enforce their budget by regulating day-to-day spending. This creates an “actionable budget” that reinforces financial discipline and helps consumers carry out their financial plan, as opposed to having to review post-transaction spending history or analyze monthly billing statements. Advanced real-time alerts are triggered by external contextual information relevant to the cardholder—such as special offers on specific items, or even location, traffic, and weather—allowing consumers to take action on information that matters to them.

Because control and alert features are integrated at the processing platform level, they work across credit, debit, and prepaid products on any network, which means issuers avoid complex integration efforts and improve program time-to-market.

According to i2c’s Fraud Monitor Center, account use fraud has increased 15% over the past two years, underscoring the need for more vigilance around fraud protection for ecommerce transactions and use of credit card controls.

“With card controls features integrated in our platform, issuers can more easily provide consumers with customizable features like real-time alerts that give them immediate updates on critical account information like suspicious transactions,” said Lisa Fugate, vice president, credit processing, at i2c. “i2c was the first payment processor to offer card controls, and industry adoption has confirmed their value to issuers and cardholders. As consumer demand for these tools grows, we continue to innovate and improve solutions that add value to our customers and their brand.”

Payment controls and alerts can be enabled by the issuer as part of their program and personalized by cardholders to align with their spending habits, mitigate exposure to potential theft and fraud, and aid in planning and budgeting. For example, parents can allocate funds for specific purposes and work with their children to create budgets and positive financial habits. i2c’s payment controls work across any channel, be it physical or virtual card, mobile app, mobile web, online, or IVR.