HSBC Holdings PLC’s rollout in the Asia-Pacific region of smart credit cards equipped with the EMV antifraud standard likely will help to increase the pace of EMV adoption this year in most markets, except the U.S., observers say .
Gemalto NV today announced HSBC has chosen the Dutch smart card maker to provide the EMV chip-and-PIN technology for 15 million credit cards in HSBC’s 19 Asia-Pacific markets. Gemalto also will provide personalization and business recovery planning services associated with the rollout.
HSBC’s Asia-Pacific region, headquartered in Hong Kong, encompasses Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and Malaysia, according to HSBC’s Web site. An HSBC spokesperson was not available to provide specifics on the cities included in the EMV rollout or the timeframe for deployment.
Fraud prevention is the key driver behind the migration of magnetic stripe credit cards to the EMV standard requiring a chip and PIN to authorize transactions, Gemalto said in a statement today.
Government and card-network pressure to migrate card programs from magnetic stripes to the EMV standard is picking up speed, experts say. Visa Inc. in November announced it will require all card issuers in Australia to shift to the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specification by April 1, 2013.
“There is a growing groundswell toward EMV adoption in markets around the world, which is also going to help drive significant growth in EMV-equipped payment terminals in many markets,” says Lynn Holland, vice president of retail payment solutions for payments-software maker ACI Worldwide.
EMV card technology first took hold in parts of Asia and Western Europe, though much of Asia still lacks significant EMV card penetration, observers say. Mexico and Canada have mounted efforts to require EMV migration over the next several years.
Though EMV is expected to gain momentum in many global regions this year, there is no indication the United States will make the switch in the foreseeable future.
“Minus a broad security mandate requiring EMV adoption, we are unlikely to see it happen in the U.S.,” Holland says. Until card fraud in the U.S. reaches the point where it impacts consumers and corporations to the necessary extent, U.S. (card) brands are not likely to react to what the rest of the world is doing with EMV.”
