The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has launched internationally-valid NFC-enabled Chip & PIN CreditCards in collaboration with Mastercard.

The new NFC-enabled Chip & PIN Credit Card offers maximum protection against the skimming or cloning of a card and against counterfeit transactions. It also minimises the possibility of fraudulent transactions at Point-of-Sale (POS) due to the PIN requirement, the Bank said.

This card has both online and offline PIN technology. The online PIN is verified after transmitting the data to the Bank for validations while the offline PIN is validated locally at the POS terminal itself. This card could be used at ATMs to withdraw cash locally and internationally, by entering the PIN, and will function similar to any other Credit Card.

This technology renders the new Mastercard Credit Cards smart. Cardholders can receive their Personal Identification Numbers either via SMS to registered mobile numbers or through a physical PIN mailer. Cardholders simply enter their PINs at POS machines to authorise transactions.

“Commercial Bank was the first to launch Debit Cards with Chip & PIN technology in the country; the launch of Credit Cards with the same technology, offers a fast-growing customer segment the enhanced  security that is an imperative today,” Commercial Bank’s Deputy General Manager Marketing Mr Hasrath Munasinghe said.

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

Headquartered in New York, Mastercard is a leading global payments and technology company that connects consumers, businesses, merchants, issuers and governments around the world; enabling them to use electronic forms of payment instead of cash and cheques.

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.

The only Sri Lankan Bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1000 banks for eight years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 261 branches and 775 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won more than 30 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and 16 international awards in the first six months of 2018.