Visa Asia Pacific chalks up more than 43 percent growth in EMV chip cards issuance
10 May, 2006
category: Financial
EMV chip migration is alive and well, according to Visa Asia Pacific, which announced a 43% growth rate in compliant chip cards and a 105% increase in numbers of chip terminals. Visa’s EMV chip cards are in use in 18 markets, with four–Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia–currently in the middle of a national migration program.
Accelerated migration is critical to meet the needs of technology savvy consumers
Singapore–Visa Asia Pacific announced that the EMV chip migration continues to see good momentum with more than 43 million Visa EMV-compliant chip cards issued in the region as at the end of 2005, registering year-on-year growth of more than 43 percent. The number of EMV chip terminals in the region has risen to more than one million, up 105 percent over the previous year.
EMV chip cards are payment cards carrying an embedded microchip. Compared with existing magnetic stripe cards, the computing power of the chip means that the cards can offer much greater security as they can protect against `skimming’ or copying the contents of the magnetic stripe. When a cardholder makes a purchase at a merchant, the chip card sends a different secret message to authenticate every transaction, making it practically impossible for a fraudster to steal the information to create counterfeit cards.
Visa’s EMV chip cards are in use in 18 markets (Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam). across the region. Four of the markets Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia have national migration programs underway. In those markets which are further down the migration path, the benefits of EMV chip are already being reaped.
Malaysia was the first country to complete a national EMV chip-card adoption program, converting all credit cards to EMV chip by December 2004 and all card terminals by December 2005. As a result, counterfeit (Counterfeit fraud occurs when stolen cardholder account data is stored on the magnetic stripe of fake cards and used for fraudulent transactions.) fraud on cards issued in the country has disappeared.
“Protecting cardholders is absolutely critical – it is what our customers tell us they want – and increasingly it is technology that helps enable us to protect them. EMV chip is the solid foundation upon which, not just the security elements, but the other consumer interests can be met, that of convenience, flexibility and variety. Given the pace at which technology is changing and fueling consumer interests, EMV chip migration must be accelerated or banks will run the risk of missing out on the tremendous opportunities open to us now, and pay a higher price for it down the road,” said Paul Jung, Visa Asia Pacific’s regional head, Emerging Product and Technology.
Visa Asia Pacific’s “Heart of Smart Chip Consumer Research” reveals that there is an increased in awareness and interest in smart cards throughout the region. Nearly two in three consumers believe EMV chip are more secure than magnetic stripe cards. Consumers also indicate that security and convenience are the two strongest factors for their preference for smart cards over magnetic stripe cards. They also expressed interest in the practical applications offered by smart cards such as usage in public transportation.
Asia Pacific Highlights
Malaysia was the first market in Asia Pacific to complete its migration. Thailand and Indonesia are now actively pushing migration for both card issuance as well as terminal deployment.
Taiwan has more than five million EMV chip cardholders and more than 162,000 EMV terminals deployed covering more than 90 percent of the merchant terminal base.
Korea has been very successful in its chip and mobile payment initiatives, with one in four Visa cards issued with a transit (contactless) capability.
Japan has issued more than 27 million Visa chip cards as of December 2005. One out of three Visa cards issued in Japan is EMV-based.
Australia and New Zealand began their chip card in chip-terminal transactions in early 2006.
About Visa:
Visa connects cardholders, merchants and financial institutions through the world’s largest electronic payments network. Visa products allow buyers and sellers to conduct commerce with ease and confidence in both the physical and virtual worlds. As an association owned by 20,000 member financial institutions, Visa is committed to the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic growth. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
About Visa Asia Pacific:
In Asia Pacific, Visa has a greater market share than all other payment card brands combined with 62 percent of all card purchases at the point of sale being made using Visa cards. There are currently 277 million Visa-branded cards in the region. For the 12 months ended December 2005, US$579 billion was spent at point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Asia Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific’s internet address is www.visa-asia.com.