Desjardins Group of Quebec is testing credit and debit cards with embedded microchips.
The banking company said last week that it had initiated its first payments using the smart cards.
Desjardins is participating in a test, in the Kitchener and Waterloo areas of Ontario, of smart cards that support the Europay, MasterCard, Visa security standard.
It also expects to begin issuing cards next spring in Saint-Jerome, Quebec.
Smart cards use a personal identification number rather than a signature for authentication, which offers improved security, according to the banking company. Instead of being swiped, the cards are inserted into a terminal at the point of sale so that the data on the chip can be read.
"These historic transactions have been carried out with success," Jean Yelle, Desjardins' vice president of card services, said in a press release. The tests are "an important step in moving toward this new technology for electronic payments and banking transactions."
