Visa Asia-Pacific regional president Chris Clark (left) and Acleda Bank president and group managing director In Channy. HEAN RANGSEY
The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) signed an agreement on Wednesday with Visa Inc to provide Visa EMV chips to its member banks and ensure the security of customers’ transactions.
In the Kingdom, Visa EMV chips were previously used exclusively at Acleda Bank Plc.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Visa Country Manager for Cambodia Chum Monika said using EMV chip standards would offer local banks and microfinance institutions the highest security for their users.
The EMV chip is embedded with microprocessor technology which creates a new transaction code every time the card is used.
“As digital payments grow in the country, we are committed to ensuring Cambodians are protected when they make transactions.
“Making Visa’s EMV chip standards available to local banks and microfinance deposit-taking institutions will benefit the entire industry,” said Monika.
ABC Chairman In Channy, who is also President and Group Managing Director of Acleda Bank, said EMV chip standards will help protect against counterfeiting and data breaches in Cambodia’s financial sector.
“By adopting Visa EMV chip standards, we will be able to strengthen domestic transactions and our network of ATMs, providing greater security in the delivery of financial services across the country,” said Channy.
He said EMV chip standards will allow consumers to make cash payments at all ATMs and microfinance institutions in Cambodia.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has developed a system called the Cambodian Shared Switch (CSS) to provide safety and convenience in ATM card use. It allows customers to use the same card at every bank participating in the system.
NBC Central Banking First Deputy Director-General Kimty Kormoly said digital payments in the Kingdom continue to experience robust growth, which has led to a growing appetite among consumers to adopt new payment methods.
“The collaboration between the Association of Banks in Cambodia and Visa today is another step forward in enhancing payment interoperability and security which is very important to promoting efficiency and safety in Cambodia’s payment system,” said Kormoly.
He said the agreement will help strengthen the security of digital payments in Cambodia.
“In the future, cashless payments in Cambodia may be based on a global payment infrastructure and today’s announcement is an important step in realising this vision,” he said.
A Visa Card payment consumer behaviour research study has found that 54 per cent of Cambodians believe they may adopt cashless payment systems within the next seven years, according to the ABC press release.
