Absa announced today that it has been certified by Visa International to accept Visa chip cards based on the EMV standard. The EMV standard, jointly developed by Visa, MasterCard and Europay, allows chip-enabled cards to work across international boundaries.
With Absa`s 570 000 cardholders, the chip-card certification makes SA one of the leaders in the development of chip cards. Phil Hepworth, GM for Visa International`s sub-Saharan region, says SA is now at least one year ahead of the 2006 deadline for the transition to chip cards set for the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Chip cards also offer a higher degree of security over conventional magnetic stripe cards as well as being able to store larger amounts of data. Using the increased data storage capabilities, banks can, in theory, make the cards available to other applications such as pension payouts, secure identification and loyalty reward records.
"South African banks have proved their commitment to the EMV standard and established an EMV Forum, an inter-bank initiative in which all the major banks are represented," says Hepworth. "Through this forum, the banks are setting technical standards and target dates for the implementation of various key steps.
"Together they have purposely and proactively approached the migration to chip by deciding to put together a proper strategy and implementation plan, starting with the most important: the infrastructure. By January 2005, all terminals in SA will be ready to accept chip cards," says Hepworth.
Visa chip cards can be used at any one of the acceptance points within Visa`s global network of over 29 million physical locations. So far, 40 countries worldwide have upgraded their acceptance infrastructure to accept chip technology.
"Secure, rewarding banking is demanded by an increasingly quality-conscious South African consumer and customer," says Santie Botha, group executive director of Absa.
"Our focus is, and always will be, on the requirements of our customers and is reflected in the customer-centric business model we employ. We will continue to be at the forefront of the technological revolution with regard to payment systems in SA and a leader in the global move to smart card technology."
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