On February 25, the Kansas City Fed released updated debit card fraud statistics showing significant shifts in card-present and card-not-present trends for non-prepaid debit cards. Data from 2021 to 2023 revealed that card-present fraud rates decreased for dual-message networks but rose for single-message networks, reversing prior patterns. According to the report, counterfeit fraud declined for dual-message networks yet increased for single-message networks, with the former still posting higher rates overall. The report highlighted that lost-or-stolen fraud continued its upward trajectory across both network types. Notably, the card-present fraud rate for single-message networks grew by 1.4 basis points, pushing cardholder losses higher despite reductions for issuers and merchants in dual-message networks.

The Kansas City Fed also reported that card-not-present fraud rates continued climbing between 2021 and 2023, with a surge of more than 10 basis points for single-message networks, surpassing dual-message network rates for the first time. This increase sharply raised merchant loss rates, more than doubling from 5.4 to 12.8 basis points, and moderately increased issuer and cardholder losses. The report indicated financially vulnerable consumers were more likely to incur fraud losses, suggesting targeted risk mitigation strategies could be critical for reducing the rising loss rates experienced by cardholders.