BDO Unibank called on its clients to immediately obtain their debit card with embedded EMV chip to ensure wider protection against fraudulent activities usually carried out in electronic banking channels.

"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 and Point-of-Sale terminals into EMV, and the eventual deactivation of the magnetic stripe-only debit card, said BDO.

Last month, BDO’s nearly 4,000 ATMs nationwide became EMV certified, 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.

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. (PR)