>Some of the comments on this article just strike me as quite idealistic about the ability of banks to bear full responsibility for authentication and authorisation. Practically, I think it works more smoothly when both parties are invested.

I agree, although I'd say it was the banks that need to be more invested, not their customers.

I take significant precautions to maintain the security of my account details and debit/credit cards. My bank is, to say the least, inconsistent about such things. If I travel more than 50 miles (~80km) from my home and attempt to use my debit card, my bank will sometimes (but not always) decline such transactions unless I call them and authenticate myself. Then again, I just had to cancel my debit card, as someone was using it in the Dominican Republic (I live in the US/Northeast) -- and my bank just approved the charges without question.

And so, because my bank doesn't enforce its anti-fraud rules consistently, I get the worst of both worlds -- declined valid charges when I travel, and approved fraudulent charges when fraud is definitely more likely. Sigh.

Edit: Clarified why the Dominican Republic wasn't likely as a valid place for my debit card to be used.