MARIO Fritz Palileo of Unionbank of the Philippines is the new president of the Cebu Bankers Club (CBC).
During his term, which will span from July 2017 to July 2018, the bank official has pledged to maximize digital technologies in enhancing the 58-year-old bankers’ organization dynamics.
Palileo said he will be at the forefront in helping the local banking industry and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in expediting the shift to Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) technology.
“Our role (in CBC) is primarily to relay or transfer whatever bank policies implemented by BSP,” said Palileo in an interview on Tuesday at the City Sports Club for CBC’s induction ceremony. The banker succeeded outgoing president Eugene Celeste Rigodon who served as the organization’s president from July 2016 to July 2017.
Going digital
Under his leadership, Palileo said CBC will adopt a “banking in the digital landscape” agenda, where it will put emphasis on the value of digitalization wihin the organization.
One of the first steps is to harness group messaging applications like Facebook Messenger and Viber to communicate seamlessly with officers of the organization. It will also use social media for information dissemination on banking-related updates and developments.
Banks, too, are on this digital track, said Palileo.
Unionbank, for instance, positions itself as an “IT company with a banking license” as it heavily invests in its digital infrastructure, the official said.
Palileo has been with the Aboitiz-led bank for 30 years now and currently serves as its ssistant vice president.
However, he said the rise of digital banking has also paved the way for cybersecurity attacks. ATM skimming and other bank fraud activities have been going around victimizing banks and their clients.
EMV solution
For ATM skimming, he said shifting to EMV is the solution. Skimming involves the use of hidden electronics to steal one’s personal information stored on the magnetic stripe of a card where thieves can record one’s pin and steal money.
“The number one defense (against skimming) is EMV. Right now, the banks are trying their best to expedite the change of card from magnetic type to EMV type,” he said.
Earlier compliance
Generally, an EMV card is more secure since this has an embedded microship as an additional layer of protection, which makes card information difficult to duplicate or copy.
Meanwhile, BSP Cebu Director Atty. Leonides Sumbi said banks in Cebu “are doing their best” to shift to EMV cards. She said the June 2018 deadline for full compliance remains.
“But our new BSP governor is encouraging earlier compliance,” she added.