Secured global payments with chip enabled MasterCards

Bank South Pacific (BSP) will now offer chip enabled cards to its MasterCard customers, giving added security for all payments. This new enhancement will be implemented, to counter and protect customers and the bank against security breaches and counterfeit card fraud.The chip cards contain embedded microprocessors that provide strong transaction security features and other application capabilities not possible with traditional magnetic stripe cards.

These chips are known as EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chips. EMV is a global standard for cards equipped with computer chips and technology to authenticate chip card transactions.

"BSP's EMV and contactless deployment will deliver an exciting step in the payments evolution for Papua New Guinea cardholders, merchants and the country itself. These advancements that BSP are delivering are world class, both from a risk perspective and an innovative capability on which to build from," says Craig Kirkland, Director of Pacific Islands at MasterCard.

 "MasterCard is delighted to partner with BSP in delivering innovation, security and global interoperability to PNG consumers and businesses."

The bank also has all its ATMs and EFTPoS terminals EMV chip compliant, meaning we can acquire and process payments done using EMV chip cards delivering enhanced security capabilities such as Touch and Go.

BSP's General Manager, Corporate Banking, Peter Beswick advised all corporate customers that, BSP recommends cardholders to collect and activate their new chip cards as soon as possible. The card needs to be authenticated before use, by doing a PIN based transaction at either an ATM or BSP EFTPoS terminal.

MasterCard chip cards have a new look and feel with an EMV chip embedded and contactless capability. Each new card that will be issued with a new Card number, cardholder must register the new card number for 3D Secure service, Card Verification Value (CVV), Personal Identification Number (PIN) and new expiration date.

With the security of EMV, our cards will be contactless, which will deliver the foundation for our customers and merchants to migrate to mobile payments in the future.