Retailers, cardholders need to switch to pin-enabled terminal card soonest

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) have urged retailers and cardholders to switch to PIN-enabled terminal and card as soon as possible.

AIBIM and ABM in joint statement yesterday said this is because using PIN is a more secure, convenient and faster way to pay compared with using signature and card payments without PIN, which would soon no longer be accepted in Malaysia.

The associations also urged retailers with PIN- enabled terminals to always offer their customers the opportunity to securely key in their six-digit PIN if they were using PIN-enabled cards and the terminal prompts for PIN entry.

“Many retailers are automatically bypassing PIN when presented with a new PINenabled card, possibly to avoid having to present the PIN pad to the customer,” it said.

It said that retailers, who have PIN-enabled terminals, were also urged to display the PIN and Pay logo at their shop and payment counters.

The associations said the rollout of PIN and Pay in Malaysia has reached critical mass in terms of the number of PIN-enabled cards distributed to cardholders, and the number of terminals at retailers upgraded for PIN.

“PIN and Pay is now available at many retailers where cardholders shop most frequently such as, but not limited to, supermarkets/ hypermarkets, departmental stores and pharmacies,” it said.

It said the associations, in collaboration with electronic payment providers, Mastercard and Visa, were actively promoting the usage of PIN across the country.

This is in line with a marketwide project called “PIN and Pay” to change the way customers are verified when using their payment card at domestic point of sale terminals, it added. — Bernama