Visa Europe is trialling an SMS transaction alert service for cardholders in an attempt to step up card security.

Using the service, Visa credit card holders can instantly receive on their mobile the time, location and amount of each transaction.

Cardholders can choose to have the updates delivered via text message, mobile email or to applications running on smartphones such as the iPhone or Android-based devices.

The alerts are being tested with Visa staff in the UK and its network of member banks, and the service will be made available to consumers if the trial is successful – in which case, future developments could include instant conversion into the user’s home currency while abroad.

According to Sandra Alzetta, senior vice president of innovation and new product development at Visa Europe, the service will allow consumers to be in constant control of their card activity.

“We want to offer cardholders the reassurance of knowing, in real-time, exactly where and when their card is being used. If something looks suspicious, this will give them the power to put a stop to any fraud taking place on their cards,” she said.

“We have chosen the summer holiday season to test this proposition as it’s the period when people travel most. Feedback from our current pilots indicates that consumers often receive the alerts before their cards are even handed back to them at the point of sale."