Transaction signals new generation of chip cards are on the way

TD Canada Trust today announced it has completed Canada’s first transaction with a chip debit card. The transaction was made at a Green Machine automated banking machine located in TD’s Creekside Corporate Office in Mississauga, Ont.

TD becomes the first organization in Canada to be able to conduct a transaction using a chip debit card at a chip-enabled ABM that adheres to EMV standards.

EMV is the global technology standard developed by Europay, MasterCard, and Visa for chip-based debit and credit cards to replace existing magnetic stripe cards. While many other countries including Britain and France have already migrated to chip technology, Canada has just begun, with critical mass of cards, ABMs and point-of-sale (POS) terminals in market expected to be reached by 2010. Over the next several years, TD will issue millions of chip-enabled TD Visa Cards and TD Canada Trust Access Cards to its customers.

TD Merchant Services has already deployed tens of thousands of chip-enabled POS terminals to merchants in preparation of chip cards entering the market.

“We’ve made great progress internally to ready TD for the transition to chip, and being the first bank in Canada to be able to complete a transaction with a chip debit card is both a satisfying and proud moment,” said Chris Stamper, vp, core banking and debit payments, TD Canada Trust. “With last year’s upgrade of our network of more than 2,500 ABMs, today’s announcement sets the stage for the final software implementation at Green Machines to accept chip debit and credit cards.”

Chip technology simply makes a secure payment system even better. Chip cards have an embedded computer chip that stores information in a secure, encrypted format, making it virtually impossible for unauthorized users to copy or access the information on the card. Chip-enabled POS terminals will prompt chip debit and credit cardholders to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN provides an extra level of protection against fraudulent unauthorized use and is a key security element of the transaction.

“Because we offer both debit and credit card issuing and payment processing services, we feel we’re particularly well positioned to assist customers in the transition to chip technology,” said Jeff van Duynhoven, vp, TD Merchant Services. “Businesses that process their card payments through TD can gain an advantage by tapping into the high level of confidence consumers have with the TD brand at the point-of-sale.”