Visa has launched a pilot program testing real-time transaction alerts sent to mobile phones via SMS text-messaging and e-mail, MediaPost reports.

The trial contains 2,000 test subjects, including PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo in the U.S., along with Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group and Vancity in Canada, the report said.

From the consumer angle, the service would notify cardholders of account activity within seconds of it occurring, the article said. It also means customers could set thresholds that would trigger the alerts, and in case there's some kind of unauthorized activity on the account, users could immediately call the bank and freeze the card.