First Visa EMV dual interface card launched in China

Friday, 18 July, 2008 (Age: 2 days)

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest financial institution in the world, is issuing its customers with the countrys first ever Visa EMV payment card allowing both contactless and contact-based payment. Cardholders can pay for purchases quickly and conveniently by simply swiping the Visa payWave card across a contactless POS terminal or alternatively inserting it into the slot of a card reader. The dual interface cards are being issued in partnership with the Asian retail group Parkson in China, whose customers can also use them to collect loyalty points. ICBC and Parkson are planning to issue the Peony Parkson credit card to several tens of thousands of bank and retail customers this year. The Chinese subsidiary of the German technology enterprise Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has been selected to supply the cards to ICBC.

The chip embedded in the card complies with the EMV standard. The issue of the Peony Parkson card represents an important step towards wide-scale migration of payment cards in China to the international standard for chip-based payment methods. The existing Parkson loyalty program will be expanded, enabling customers to pay and collect points in supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, cinemas, parking lots and gas stations with this card.

Global IDentification: First Visa EMV dual interface card launched in China