KUCHING: All cardholders must use Personal Identification Number (PIN) for all domestic transactions conducted using locally issued payment cards at Point of Sales (POS) terminal, with effect from 1 July, 2017.
According to Tan Nyat Chuan of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Payment System Policy Department, Malaysia is the first country in Asia Pacific region to complete the migration to chip cards in 2005 and its adoption of the international chip standards on industry scale has contributed to a drastic reduction in counterfeit cards and frauds and boosted public confidence in the use of payment cards.
“Migration to electronic payments (e-payments) is a key enabler for greater economic efficiency, productivity and competitiveness; and the potential cost saving and efficiency gains from migrating to e-payments are quite substantial.
“Recognising this, BNM has embarked on a 10-year roadmap as set out the Financial Sector Blueprint 2011-2020 to accelerate the country’s migration to e-payments as a substitute to paper-based payment methods such as cheques and cash,” said Tan during the media briefing on ‘Migration to Pin-Based Payment Cards’ by BNM at BNM Regional Office at Jalan Satok here, yesterday.
He said merchants should also promote the use of PIN for every transaction to benefit from greater protection against fraud.
He pointed out that migration to PIN-based payment cards was one of the initiatives to further enhance the security of the payment card infrastructure; and similar to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction, cardholders will be required to enter a 6-digit PIN when making payment card transaction at the merchants’ POS terminals.
He said signature verification would no longer be accepted and there would be no extension to the deadline of 1 July, 2017
Tan said that in the event cardholders encountered a merchant who did not provide them with the option to enter PIN, cardholders should report to their card issuers for the necessary action to be taken.
“Cardholders or merchants that encounter any issue in relation to PIN usage are advised to notify their card issuers or BNM. This will assist BNM and the banking industry to uncover and resolve teething issues in relation to the implementation of PIN-based payment cards during the transition period,” he said.
On safety tips for cardholders, Tan said cardholders were reminded not to leave their card unattended and not to allow another person to use their payment cards.
“Do not disclose your PIN to another person; always cover the keypad when entering your PIN; do not record your PIN on your payment card or anything kept in proximity with your payment card which could be lost or stolen.
“A cardholder will not be made liable for losses due to unauthorised transactions at POS terminals as long as the cardholder has not acted fraudulently and has adopted the safety tips outlined,” he added.
Also present were BNM Strategic Communications Department Deputy Director Yang Lai Chow and representative from the National Cards Group (NCG) Winnie Khong.
