Banks like Banif, Montepio Geral, Millenniumbcp or Crédito Agrícola have already started migrating the cards provided to customers. From the traditional magnetic stripe, debit and credit cards will start using a chip which significantly increases the data storage capacity and the associated security mechanisms.
Millenniumbcp has already advanced with this migration in credit cards, Montepio opted to start with debit cards and Banif has advanced across the board, as has Crédito Agricola, details today’s edition of Diário Económico.
BES prepares for this year the migration of credit cards and for 2007 the application of the process to debit cards. Santander Totta is still drawing up a calendar.
The security of electronic payment cards was the order of the day after the recent news of a fraudulent scheme that, in various parts of the country, made the cloning of cards of this type, later used to make illegal transactions.
Polled on the subject, the banks reveal that they are already advanced in complying with the European legal framework outlined for this area, which imposes a standardization of standards used in debit and credit cards, with the use of the same credit technology. chip on all products on the market. The measure aims to increase security and eliminate the differences between domestic and international payments.
Today there are 17 million electronic payment cards in Portugal, of which only 2.63 percent are equipped with chip, about 359 thousand. On machines, the update process is more advanced and 98 percent of ATMs already support the new technology. At payment terminals (POS) the conversion rate is 38 percent, reveals the DE based on data from SIBS.
New generation cards combine the use of a PIN with an authentication system that requires the exchange of encrypted messages. In this way, it is guaranteed that the new cards work in all types of terminals and that they support a new set of features that go far beyond those explored today, such as the loading of tickets for shows, the direct payment of small services, etc.
Related News:
2006-09-09 – Computer fraud with electronic payment cards motivates seven arrests
2006-09-08 – Card issuing companies come together to standardize security standards
2005-07-12 – SIBS will advance with strong authentication platform for homebanking
