Baiduri Bank First To Introduce EMV Acquiring Service
By Azaraimy HH

Bandar Seri Begawan - Baiduri Bank has marked another milestone for being the first to introduce the "EMV Acquiring Service" in Brunei Darussalam.

The new service was officially launched during a ceremony held at The Rizqun International Hotel yesterday, which was attended by the guest of honour, Minister of Communications Pehin Dato Hj Awang Abu Bakar and some 200 people from the government and private sector including card merchants.

"This official launch marks a very important milestone for Baiduri Bank to be the first in Brunei to introduce the EMV Acquiring Service by installing EMV enabled Point of Sale (POS) terminals at our card merchant locations," Baiduri Bank General Manager Mr Pierre Imhof said during the launching.

"This puts Brunei amongst several countries in the region to embark on the EMV migration project," he added. The general manager said that Baiduri Bank has invested time and money to implement this EMV project in the Sultanate.

"We are now rolling out Phase 1, which is the EMV acquiring service for the merchants. (This will be) followed by the second phase of the project - to issue EMV chip cards to cardholders in the next few months," Mr Pierre Imhof said.

"In Phase 1, our merchants will receive EMS" ready terminals, which will protect our merchants from potential financial losses," the general manager said, explaining that counterfeit card fraud could migrate from neighbouring countries due to Brunei's open borders and ease of travel nowadays.

"As the largest card merchant acquirer in Brunei, we feel it is our responsibility to take on this initiative," the general manager said.

"At Baiduri Bank, we are deeply committed to support and work with government agencies on various initiatives. Our EMV project provides a secure and efficient payment infrastructure and fully compliments, the current government ICT initiative in developing a more advanced and secure payment industry," Mr Pierre Imhof said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kevin Tai, the director of implementation for VISA International, delivered a presentation on the EMV chip technology and its benefits to merchants.

EMV is the industry abbreviation for "Europay International, MasterCard International and Visa International", which represents the global standard for electronic financial transactions covering the operation of SMART card payment cards and terminals.

The business rationale for the introduction of EMV is the high level of security it offers to banks, merchants and cardholders.

EMV compliance in most countries is mandated by the country's central bank, given the recent increases in payment card frauds, and in particular, the rapid growth of counterfeit fraud.

In countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, where payment card frauds are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, the need to protect the borders from fraud migration is necessary.

With the high level of expertise, commitment and support provided by Visa International, MasterCard International and selected vendors, Baiduri is confident that the transaction to EMV readiness will be a smooth and a resounding success.

For more information on the EMV project, call 2454187 or visit any branch of Baiduri. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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