Shop Online Safely With Verified by Visa & MasterCard Securecode

Shopping in new places is exciting – the thrill of discovering new brands, the excitement of finding good deals, and the anticipation of unwrapping your new goodies at home.

There’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement you get from watching a shop assistant cashing up a pile of heavily discounted goods and waiting to discover just how much you’ve saved. On the other side the same can be said for the nervous anticipation waiting to see how much you’ve overspent. Either way when the terminal is presented to you to accept the amount you’ve spent you’re happy knowing that you’re the one authorising the payment.

However, imagine the next time you’re asked to pay by credit card the teller asks you to close your eyes and enter your PIN number rather than checking the amount you’re being asked to pay? In reality this isn’t how we pay for goods and services in shops, in fact we’re incredibly careful with our cards and PIN numbers.

Often hearing about card skimming and credit card fraud, most people are content knowing that their card is in a safe place, and their PIN is engrained in their memory. When you pay for goods online however things become a little less certain. While shopping online you need to be sure that you’re shopping in a safe environment. When we shop online we often hand over all our card details and security code to faceless shops, assuming that it is all secure.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. You may be unaware but your Visa or Mastercard provider is looking out for you and has teamed up with a number of online stores to provide a free verification process.

Verified by Visa and MasterCard Securecode is a free service offered by AIB in partnership with Visa and MasterCard to give AIB credit and debit cardholders additional security and peace of mind when shopping online. These services protect your AIB credit & debit cards against unauthorised use when you shop online at participating retailers.

When shopping with participating retailers, you’ll be asked to register for this secure service. You can choose to ignore this request to register once, but on the next occasion you must register.

If you love shopping online make sure you’ve got the right card for you. VisitAIB Credit Cardsand have a look at AIB’s guide to Secure Internet Shoppingfor more information.

Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.