Visa and BancNet have signed a memorandum of agreement to help the nation’s largest interbank network accelerate migration to EMV chip cards, as mandated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The agreement allows BancNet to access Visa’s EMV implementation standards to facilitate EMV chip conversion for all domestic transactions.
This includes not just issuing chip-enabled cards, but also working to ensure ATMs and point-of-sale terminals meet the internationally recognized chip-standards by Jan. 1, 2017.
“Trust underpins all transactions. As electronic payments grows in the Philippines, we are committed to ensuring consumers are protected whenever and wherever they transact electronically, be it face-to-face or online,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam.
“To safeguard this trust, the cooperation between Visa and BancNet ensures that Filipino consumers will have access to secure payment options that will keep their hard-earned money safe,” he said.
EMV cards contain an embedded microprocessor, which creates a new transaction code every time the card is used.
This anti-counterfeit fraud solution provides strong security features previously not possible with traditional magnetic stripe cards.
“Upon completion of the migration, local banks and businesses will be highly protected against counterfeit fraud, and less likely to be targets for skimming and data theft. BancNet will be able to further strengthen the security of its ATMs as well as fundamentally bring greater security to the delivery of financial services across all channels,” said BancNet chairman Manuel Tagaza.
“As the country’s largest multi-bank, multi-channel payment gateway, BancNet is committed to ensuring that its members’ cardholders receive the best and most stable security in all transactions. Visa’s proven standard, backed by years of global experience and expertise, gives us a lot of confidence that we will succeed in our EMV migration,” added Tagaza.
The EMV chip standard, a global industry standard for a secure payment transaction, is developed by EMVCo which is collectively owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay and Visa.
“The licensing of Visa’s EMV standards to BancNet will be beneficial for the industry as a whole. When it comes to security, we each have a role to play and a collective interest in maintaining the highest security standards available.
The integration of EMV chip is an excellent step in this direction and I am proud to see the Philippines leading in this manner,” said Joe Cunningham, Visa head of Risk, Asia Pacific.
“In fact, the Philippines’ domestic point-of-sale counterfeit fraud has reduced significantly since the introduction of EMV chip in 2012,” he added.
