Editor's Note:  Nice attempt, but the user is still required to enter their "Personal Account Number" (PAN) onto the site, or into the web browser space which as I've already stated, is an exercise in futility (and naiveity) when it comes to securing the transaction. (See my previous post) and be sure to check out "the cheesy video link at the bottom of this post. 

If your card information is going to be swiped, shouldn't you be the one "SwipePIN it?  This approach, (the Brits call it a "scheme" and that seems to be a better word for it) is simply, nothing more than a marketing ploy versus a "real" technology designed  to truly securing an online transaction...  It's better, but not there yet.

Visa trials PIN payment card to fight online fraud  Banks build one-time generator into plastic By John Leyden 

Visa cards with a built in one-time code generator are to be trialed by four European banks. The technology is designed to tackle the growing problem of online credit card fraud.

MBNA, a Bank of America company in the UK, Corner Bank in Switzerland, Cal in Israel and IW Bank in Italy are to take part in limited trials of Visa's new one-time code card.

The next-generation cards feature a numeric keypad on the back of a plastic card. Customers enter their PIN code to generate a one-time password. This code, displayed on a card’s display panel, is then used to authenticate online purchases.

The approach is an alternative to using a password when authenticating online purchases through the much-criticised Verified by Visa scheme. As previously reported, VbyV passwords can often be easily reset knowing only card details and a user's birthday.

The new cards, developed in conjunction with Australian firm Emue Technologies, are far more secure - though not infallible. Some banks have already introduced two-factor authentication technologies, which grew up in the corporate remote access market, to provide extra protection to online banking transactions.

The approach means that basic phishing attacks aimed at tricking users into handing over online credentials are insufficient to compromise accounts because the code, typically generated by a separate token or other piece of kit, is also needed to log into accounts. That still leaves open the possibility of man-in-the-middle attacks, where hackers set up websites that pose as the real thing, tricking users into handing over one-time passwords which are relayed to genuine banking sites in real-time.

More sophisticated attacks of this type have already targeted Citibank customers.

Although one-time code technology is no silver bullet capable of slaying online fraud it is a big improvement on using passwords, which as Visa Europe points out can easily be forgotten. Bundling the one-time password technology into a card also means users don't have to deal with multiple items of kit.

Problems in getting out a personal calculator-style keypad delayed the introduction of Barclays' PINsentry scheme, which like the one-time code generator is also designed to combat online fraud. Emue has managed to develop technology with a three-year battery lifetime, overcoming one of the potential stumbling blocks to the scheme.

Corner Bank has invited 500 to take part in the trials. Visa is yet to get back to us on the total number of participants or expected length of the presumably small-scale trails but we'll update this story as and when we hear more.

In the meantime a slightly cheesy video of the technology in action can be seen here. Images of Emue's card technology can be found here. ®