The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has introduced Mastercard debit cards with Chip & PIN technology for the first time in Sri Lanka.

These cards replace the existing Maestro debit cards with magnetic strips.  The new Chip & PIN debit card will minimise the possibility of fraudulent transactions at Point-of-Sale (POS) due to the PIN requirement, the Bank said.

This technology renders the new Mastercard debit cards smart and significantly increases the security level of the card when transacting. Cardholders will receive their Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) via SMS to registered mobile numbers when branches issue the card. The Bank said cardholders are advised to change these PINs to PINs of their choice at a Commercial Bank ATM before they perform a point-of-sale transaction or an ATM transaction. Cardholders simply enter their PINs at POS machines to authorise transactions.

“Commercial Bank always believes in introducing technology that matters to customers. In this day and age, security is a primary concern of customers and this new card will ensure more secure purchases not only locally, but also when they are overseas,” Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager Marketing Mr Hasrath Munasinghe said.

The Mastercard debit card with Chip & PIN technology is deemed risk averse since it requires the card holder to authenticate each EMV transaction using a PIN, or use an OTP (One Time Password) for e-commerce transactions.

It does not support contactless transactions and cannot be used at e-commerce sites which do not support 3D secure technology, or at POS terminals which do not support PIN, the Bank said.

Commercial Bank said it will issue the new cards over the counter for cardholders who require an instant replacement.

Commercial Bank cards are the fastest growing cards in Sri Lanka and enjoy market leadership in Credit and Debit Card cumulative point-of-sale usage. The Bank offers a variety of credit cards in the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers of both Visa and MasterCard as well as Visa Signature, World MasterCard and Visa Infinite cards in the premium segment. The cards are equipped with ‘Tap & Go’ NFC technology and are backed by a strong NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network. Commercial Bank ‘Max Loyalty Rewards’ scheme is the only loyalty scheme that offers loyalty rewards points on both Credit and Debit cards.