Vocabulary list

		to launch a bank card system — ввести систему расчета по кредитным карточкам syn. to pioneer a bank card system
		to operate a bank card system — вести систему расчета по кредитным карточкам
		to rank (first, second) — занимать (первое, второе) место
		to have an over-all responsibility for smth — нести полную ответственность за что-либо
		to bring a query — приносить запрос
		to feed information to a computer — ввести информацию в компьютер
		to accept smth — принимать что-либо
		to decline smth — отклонять что-либо
		a cardholder — владелец кредитной карточки
		to be in arrears — иметь задолженность
		to present a card in payment — расплачиваться кредитной карточкой

		to be below (above) the agreed floor limit — быть ниже (выше) согласованного уровня
		to require authorization for smth — требовать разрешения на что-либо
		a purchase — покупка
		to face a problem — столкнуться с проблемой
		to report stolen (lost, missing) cards — сообщать об украденных (потерянных) кредитных карточках
		counterfeit credit cards — фальшивые, поддельные кредитные карточки
		to be fraudulent — быть фальшивым, поддельным
		20 thousand dollars worth of fraudulent purchasing — покупки по поддельным кредитным карточкам на сумму в 20 тысяч долларов
		to be made from authentic plastic blanks — быть изготовленным из подлинных бланков

1. A few years ago FMA launched a bank card system. It did not launch Master-Charge. It did not launch Bank Americard, either. It pioneered the Keycharge bank card system. At present FMA operates the Keycharge bank card system with a group of other banks in the US, Canada, and overseas. In size, Keycharge ranks immediately after Bank Americard and Master-Charge. Alex Vandervoort, within FMA, has an over-all responsibility for the division. The bank houses the Keycharge credit card division along with the Keycharge authorization centre in the Headquarters Tower.

1. What did FMA launch a few years ago?

2. FMA pioneered Master-Charge, didn't it?

3. Who has an over-all responsibility for the credit card division within FMA?

4. Does the Keycharge bank card system rank first?

2. Calls pour into the authorization centre twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. They poured in yesterday and the day before yesterday. Calls come from every US state and Canadian province. Telex machines bring queries from thirty foreign countries. Last week a Telex machine brought a query from Germany. A free operator in the Keycharge authorization centre took the call. His first words were: "What is your card number?" When he received the answer, the operator fed the information to a computer. The computer instantly signalled "Accepted". It did not signal "Declined". The first meant that the credit card was good, the second that the cardholder was in arrears. On a normal day fifteen thousand calls come in.

1. How often do calls come into the authorization centre?

2. What query did the telex machine bring last week?

3. Who took the call?

4. Did the computer signal "Declined"?

5. The signal "Accepted" meant that the cardholder was in arrears, didn't it?

3. When a Keycharge cardholder presents a Keycharge card in payment for goods or services, the place of business accepts the card without question if the amount is below the agreed floor limit. For a large purchase the bank requires authorization which takes minutes to obtain. Yesterday a storekeeper phoned the authorization centre. He suspected that the card presented to him was stolen. "When did the shopper visit your store?" the operator wanted to know.

1. When does the place of business accept a Keycharge card without question?

2. Does the bank require authorization for a large purchase?

3. Who phoned the authorization centre yesterday?

4. The storekeeper suspected that the card presented to him was stolen, didn't he?

4. Not everything goes well with the Keycharge credit card system. The bank faces two problems: stolen or lost credit cards and counterfeit credit cards. Last Monday Alex Vandervoort met Nolan Wainwright to discuss the problems.

"Did cardholders report many missing cards last week?" Alex wanted to know.

"No, they didn't" was the answer.

"How did you know some cards were fraudulent?" was Alex's next question.

"We got a warning of excessive purchasing. Ten purchases in a day and the computer alerts us" said Wainwright. Both Wainwright and Vandervoort looked concerned. A stolen or lost Keycharge card was good for twenty thousand dollars worth of fraudulent purchasing in the week or so during which most stolen cards stayed unreported.

1. What problems does FMA face?

2. Last Monday Alex Vandervoort met Nolan Wainwright to discuss the missing six thousand dollars didn't he?

3. What warning did the security division get last week?

4. Did Alex Vandervoort and Nolan Wainwright look concerned?

5. What was a lost or stolen credit card good for in a week or so?

5. During the meeting in the Keycharge security office Wainwright placed on the desk eight plastic Keycharge credit cards. Four of those credit cards were counterfeit, but he did not separate the bad ones from the good. Vandervoort failed to recognize the counterfeits. They looked the same as real ones even under ultraviolet.

"How do you explain it?" Alex wanted to know.

"They are made from authentic plastic blanks that are stolen. Four months ago one of our suppliers had a break-in. The thieves got into the strong room and stole three hundred finished plastic sheets." Vandervoort whistled softly. A single plastic sheet produced sixty-six Keycharge credit cards. That meant, potentially, almost twenty thousand fraudulent cards.

1. Did Nolan Wainwright place ten Keycharge plastic cards on the desk?

2. How many cards were counterfeit?

3. Nolan Wainwright didn't separate the good cards from the bad ones, did he?

4. Was the quality of the counterfeit credit cards good?

5. How did Nolan Wainwright explain it?