Consumer confidence at stake in retail, credit card industry clash

The National Retail Federation (NRF) on Thursday urged a card industry organisation to stop requiring retailers to keep customers' card numbers for up to 18 months.

The stored data helps track product returns and disputed or suspicious transactions. However, retailers say the data would be more secure if only credit card companies and banks that issue the cards stored it.

"It makes more sense for credit card companies to protect their data from thieves by keeping it in a relatively few secure locations than to expect millions of merchants scattered across the nation to lock up their data for them," David Hogan, the retail federation's chief information officer, said in a strongly worded letter.

He said he was putting "the credit card industry on notice."

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