Green Team
Researcher/Presenter
Jeremy Archey
Who is the customer?
Our direct customers are the large, pre-established credit card companies such as Visa,
MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, as well as the government. Our secondary
customers are the individual businesses who purchase plans from the above companies
that use our protection.
What characteristics do they possess?
Credit card companies spend millions of dollars annually on securing their credit cards
against fraud and/or theft. Businesses lose even more money a year through
embezzlement, often time perpetrated by using business credit cards fraudulently.
How much do they need this solution?
Credit card companies need this solution for two reasons. One, to be more competitive
with each other, so that if one company adopts the solution, it will force all others to
license it, lest they miss out on such an important security development. Second, it will
attract more business customers, which are low-risk, high-use customers, which the credit
card companies love.
How much are they willing to spend?
Credit card companies have been posting record profits for several years now, and
identity theft and fraud have been on the rise for about the same number of years. By
taking the proceeds from the former event and spending it on the latter, credit companies
will protect their long term success by eliminating a potential problem while the market
still strongly favors them.
What is the return on investment for the customer?
Unfortunately, the measure for the return on investment for the credit card companies is
largely intangible. They will not have to spend as much on other forms of security, will
be less likely to be held responsible for fraud, and will increase their customer base
because of the demand for our product. However, their return would surely be more than
the minimal cost of materials and the licensing fee we charge for our service.
What are the added benefits?
Added benefits for the soft customer include the ability to monitor employee and
company spending habits more efficiently, while benefits for the credit card companies
include faster check out time for their customers and more versatile credit cards that
could be upgraded in the future to incorporate new business ideas.
Does the solution introduce new problems?
This solution introduces the problem of smart card security, which has not been fully
researched yet.