RIYADH, 24 June 2003 — The Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) in conjunction with Visa International has become the first bank in the Kingdom to launch smart card use. Smart cards, also called chip cards, are much more secure than conventional magnetic cards and they can store far more data. The introduction of the new cards was announced at a press conference by Peter Baltussen, managing director, SHB. Peter Scriven, Visa International GM, Middle East said Visa was negotiating with other banks in the Kingdom for the launch of smart cards under their own brands.
“At the end of 2002, there were over 90,000 chip cards in the Middle East. We are confident that with members such as Saudi Hollandi Bank who have set the trend in moving to chip, we will soon exceed 120,000 Visa chip cards in the region by the end of this month.”
Congratulating the bank, the Visa executive continued: “Chip is the technology of the future and we applaud SHB’s foresight in leading the first chip drive in the country.”
“Chip cards have a definite edge over the traditional magnetic stripe,” Peter Baltussen confirmed, “especially in combating potential fraud. The microprocessor embedded in the card carries only encrypted data, making it therefore almost impossible to decipher when in the wrong hands.”
He added that the launch of the card by SHB heralds a new trend from magnetic cards to smart cards. Gold and silver smart cards provide cardholders with additional security features, especially when making payments around the world or at ATMs. Existing SHB Gold and Silver cards will be replaced by the new smart card over the coming months.
Saud Al-Mehaid from the Credit Card Center emphasized: “The Saudi Hollandi smart card will be able to perform all regular credit functions found on a magnetic card. However, the micro chip processor also has the capability of storing 80 times more data than the magnetic stripe, making it useful for various non-payment applications that may be introduced in future.”
He pointed out that in countries where Visa cards are in circulation, such as Germany, France and Austria, chip cards already carry out a variety of functions including loyalty programs and identity information while in Japan, chip cards are extensively used in transport systems.
