Verifact Refitting Bank of Nova Scotia POS Terminals to Test Visa Cash

Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto, said it will upgrade its International Verifact Inc. point of sale terminals to accept smart cards.

The Canada-based manufacturer will add a "chip farm" device to the terminals, which can already accept debit and credit cards.

The system has been certified for the Visa Cash program, Bank of Nova Scotia's initial interest. Though it has joined the other major Canadian banks in MasterCard's competing Mondex organization, Scotiabank also wants to test Visa Cash.

"Visa brings high market awareness and acceptance to smart card payments, while IVI brings its strong technical resources and reliability to the transaction terminal," said Edward Lomax, the bank's assistant general manager of merchant products.

International Verifact president L. Barry Thomson said the technology provides a "migration strategy" for smart cards. "We are aggressively seeking Mondex certification as well," he said.

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