RIYADH, 16 September — Banks in the Kingdom are planning to issue smart cards containing microchips for storing and retrieving data on the user’s transactions without having to go online.
This was disclosed to Arab News by Iain Jamieson, general manager, Visa International, who said these smart cards would be out on the market within six months. Premal Patel, head of marketing, Visa International in Dubai, and Robert Mitchell, managing director of Satchi & Satchi, were also present. The occasion was the launch of a new regional brand strategy for Visa to position plastic money as a means of daily transaction rather than for shopping needs during travel or for other specific purposes.
A new campaign under the name, “Visa takes you places” was launched, beginning with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to encourage further migration from ATM to the Point of Sale (POS).
Referring to the launch of smart cards, Jamieson said they would require 30 percent of the POS to be replaced in the first phase. Currently, there are 31,000 POS in the Kingdom. Describing the Kingdom as the biggest market for Visa cards in the Middle East, he said that over a one-year period from June last year Saudis had conducted 61 million Visa transactions.
Responding to a question that banks were collecting late fee payments from customers due to delays concerning the time differential between Gregorian and Hegira calendars, Jamieson said the matter would have to be addressed by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, banks and Visa. He denied that Visa was cooperating with the FBI in passing on information on transactions conducted in the Middle East.
