BDO EMV-chip debit cards have been available, for free, since the third quarter of 2016. However, the free-of-charge upgrade has yet to reach wide adoption as many are still using the outdated magnetic stripe-only ATM debit cards. BDO Unibank is now urging its clients to shift to the new EMV-chip ATM debit card as soon as possible to take advantage of its fully EMV-certified ATM network and safer banking. The EMV-chip ATM-debit card can be obtained from the client’s branch of account.
Although EMV-chip ATM debit cards are now readily available for BDO’s retail clients, BDO says that it will make the cards available to their corporate and payroll clients at their respective HR offices by December 31, 2017.
“Making the shift to the EMV-chip ATM debit card is one way to protect the clients from electronic fraud. It 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,” said the bank executive vice president and transaction bank head Edwin G. Reyes. “We hope our customers would embrace this significant improvement being implemented by the entire banking industry.
BDO was the country’s first bank in the industry that was able to fully retrofit its ATM network to permit EMV-chip card transactions. Clients who upgrade to EMV-chip ATM debit cards will be able to benefit from over 4,000 of BDO’s EMV-certified ATMs.
As a movement that produces a significant way to reduce counterfeit fraud, skimming, and other attacks that magnetic stripe payment cards are prone to, the regulatory shift to EMV or Europay MasterCard Visa is the local banking industry’s collective effort for better banking.