HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad has become the first foreign bank in the country to launch the EMV-compliant chip credit card.
The EMV-compliant chip card offers cardholders added security and enables personalisation of its MasterCard and Visa card products.
"EMV is the most important specification in the chip payment card system and was named after its originators, Europay-MasterCard-Visa. The card describes a set of requirements to ensure inter-operability between chip cards and terminals on a global basis and has been accepted as the global standard for chip payment cards by various financial institutions and card associations," said HSBC deputy chairman and chief executive officer Zarir J. Cama.
"The EMV chip credit cards are designed to store thousands of times more information than conventional magnetic strip cards. They can also perform multiple functions such as conduct payment, secure ID and store loads of personal information. In this way, the EMV chip credit card can help cardholders reduce the number of cards in their wallets by combining several existing cards into just one or two," he said during the launch at Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur recently.
"The EMV card is an intelligent card with the capabilities of a small personal computer. Simple and easy to use, it offers users increased convenience and control. It also enables the bank to keep track of customers' purchasing habits and preferences, thus enabling us to come up with loyalty programmes and campaigns to suit their needs," said Zarir.
"The biggest benefit it has to offer will be the elimination of fraud. Banks currently lose about RM80 million a year to fraudulent activities, which is a hefty figure. To combat fraud, the EMV chip credit card uses a sophisticated encryption lock and key to authenticate the card and its transactions, making it more certain that the card is genuine. It also provides much greater resistance to skimming, in which criminals duplicate information against the magnetic strip of a credit card and use the card for their own benefit," he added.
According to Zarir, the bank is now replacing its conventional magnetic-strip credit cards with the EMV chip credit card. Existing primary and supplementary HSBC cardholders whose cards are up for renewal after next month will also be issued the new chip credit card.
The cards will also be issued to new successful applicants after that date.
"Our target is to convert about 500,000 cardholders to the new chip credit card by the end of the year," said Zarir.
