A UK bank is considering giving away smartcard readers which would enable its 10 million card customers to make secure online banking transactions. So far Barclays Bank Plc’s entry into the e-commerce arena has not attracted the business that the bank would like. Recent research figures gathered by Barclays, one of the four biggest UK retail bankers, revealed that two-thirds of consumers are unwilling to buy over the internet because of lack of confidence. This is hardly music to Barclays’ ears, as the bank has been spending millions over the last year migrating its customers from magnetic stripe to smartcards.
Barclays will decide in March whether to distribute the smartcard readers free, or whether sell them at a subsidized price. The bank has already made an effort to persuade its customers that online banking is secure, offering to compensate any customers that suffer from internet fraud.
