BDO's EMV shift to protect accounts

SHIFTING to EMVchip debit card is the first step to ensuring wider protection to clients against fraudulent activities usually carried out in electronic banking channels.

It is for this reason that BDO Unibank is reiterating its call to clients who have yet to make the shift to immediately obtain their debit card with embedded EMV chip from their branch of account.

"The bank’s objective over time is to effect a holistic approach to protecting the clients’ accounts from fraud. But to achieve this, clients must obtain their EMV chip debit card which is now available at their branch of account free of charge,” said BDO executive vice president and transaction banking head Edwin G. Reyes.

Accompanying this initial step are the upgrade of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals into EMV, and the eventual deactivation of the magnetic stripe-only debit card.

Last month, BDO’s nearly 4,000 ATMs nationwide became EMVcertified, making it the first bank to fully retrofit its ATM network to allow EMV chip debit card transactions. Other enhancements are targeted for completion within the first half of 2018.

BDO started to make the EMV-chip debit card available to its clients as early as the third quarter of 2016. For corporate or payroll clients, BDO will make the EMV-chip debit cards available at their respective HR offices by December 31, 2017.PR

An EMV chip card has enhanced security features, which include among others, encryption locks and keys to authenticate the card and the cardholder's transaction, protecting card data from being compromised.

The regulatory requirement to shift to EMV or the Europay MasterCard Visa is part of the banking industry’s move to produce a more effective way of significantly reducing counterfeit fraud, skimming and other related attacks perpetrated in magnetic stripe payment cards.