Visa sets Phl rollout of EMV chip cards

MANILA, Philippines - Visa Inc., a global payments technology company,  is preparing to roll out in the Philippines the Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) chip cards, a new tool that would further protect customers against fraud, a top company official said.

Iain Jamieson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam, said they have a timeline to encourage acquirers to upgrade their automated teller machines (ATMs) in Asia Pacific and the US to accept EMV chip cards.

“If an EMV chip card is used at an ATM that cannot accept EMV chip-enabled cards, the ATM acquirer will bear the cost for counterfeit fraud. Currently card issuers bear the liability for fraudulent ATM transactions,” he said.

“As electronic payments and ATMs become more widely used across the Philippines and abroad, Visa is committed in ensuring the security of cardholders’ transactions,” he added.

EMV chip technology, Jamieson said, adds additional security layers, giving cardholders greater peace of mind.

“The security benefits of dynamic authentication to the ATM channel will significantly reduce card present fraud,” he said.

Since EMV chip payment devices generate dynamic values unique to each transaction and that change with every use, chip technology adds an additional layer of security that helps significantly reduce card fraud.

By encouraging investments in EMV chip technology, Visa is encouraging improved international interoperability and security with dynamic authentication as well as helping to build a foundation for mobile payments.

At present, Visa connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments.

It operates one of the world’s most advanced processing networks-VisaNet-that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants.