SAN FRANCISCO (2/11/16)--Visa has introduced a service that allows cardholders to monitor and control how their debit and credit cards are used in real time.

Visa Consumer Transaction Controls, which is available to Visa card-issuing financial institutions, enables account holders to set spending controls, receive transaction alerts, or even temporarily suspend their accounts using an on- and off-feature.

“By putting the account holder in charge, Visa card issuers can provide their consumers peace of mind through innovative spending controls, and more effective fraud prevention,” said Mark Nelsen, Visa senior vice president of risk products and business intelligence. “With new digital commerce experiences emerging daily, it’s important that we provide easy and convenient ways for consumers to direct and monitor how their accounts are used and help better secure the payment system.”

Spending controls can be applied to different transaction types, date ranges, or overall card spending to offer consumers visibility and control over their money. Alerts can be sent by text, mobile app, or email when transactions take place.

Participating financial institutions can integrate transaction controls into their mobile banking applications.