The possibility of a charge back risk is NOT present with any digital gold currency. With fraud eating into the bottom line of retailers this year, that loss is costing plenty.

When will credit card companies what make billions correct their 50 year card technology?  When will consumers say they have had enough?

Rebecca Thomson from ComputerWeekly had this to say.

Online retailers could be hit by a bill for more than £105m this Christmas because of credit card fraud, online payments company Moneybookers has warned.

Recent estimates put expected online spending in the UK over the festive season at £13.16bn. The company said 0.8% of that will be lost through fraud.

“Facing the prospect of slowing consumer spending in 2009, cash-strapped online retailers can ill-afford this additional expense,” said Moneybookers.

US and UK-based cards are still at high risk, but there has been an increase in fraudulent activity in other Western European countries. Criminals are moving on to these countries as UK and US consumers get better at protecting themselves.

Moneybookers said, “Online payments providers should be more transparent with the retailers that use them and actively demonstrate confidence in their systems by shouldering the cost of fraud themselves, rather than passing it on.”