Karachi, Pakistan – November 21, 2013: As a major step towards EMV migration in Pakistan, the country largest bank, HBL, has started issuing EMV Visa Debit Card. IRIS Switch has also been upgraded to support acquiring of Visa EMV cards on the country’s largest network of multi-vendor ATMs.
Cards industry in Pakistan is dominated by mag-stripe cards. HBL has taken the initiative to launch chip-based EMV debit card that is currently the most secure card technology in the market. Launched in collaboration with VISA, the chip card uses advanced data protection technology that prevents data theft and open doors to more innovative modes of payments.
The EMV debit card scheme celebrates Pakistani craftsmanship and the cards are adorned with different designs from across the nation. While these crafts add color to the nation landscape, HBL supports by carrying them on its most secure card scheme.
IRIS, a Multi-Channel Enterprise Switch, is fully compliant with EMV standards of card issuing and acquiring. Successful implementations have been done for various card schemes including VISA and MasterCard. IRIS currently manages the entire spectrum of delivery channels including multi-vendor ATMs, CDMs, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking and Phone Banking.
“Migrating to chip cards is a major milestone for HBL as it protects our client data much more securely. This technology will boost confidence on usage of cards and increase market acceptability of chip-based payments.” – Faiq Sadiq, Head of Payment Services Group, HBL
“TPS is proud to be the technology partner of HBL, the largest bank in Pakistan. The shift towards EMV by HBL shall not only give a more secure payment instrument to its customers but also set the direction for the banking industry in Pakistan.” – Shahzad Shahid, Chief Marketing Officer, TPS
HBL is the first commercial bank of Pakistan that was launched in 1947. HBL is now the largest bank in the country with a branch network of 1,500 & 1,100+ ATMs and customer base of over 5 million.
TPS is a leading provider of payment and cards solutions worldwide. TPS enjoys over 80% market share in debit card industry of Pakistan including defacto national switch 1LINK and 3 of the top 5 banks. TPS has a global footprint serving a delighted customer base of over 132 banks, telecoms, central banks, payment processors and other financial institutions spread across 32 countries.
