Termed, “The Great Migration to EMV Chip,” the new technology by Paynet aims to decrease cases of fraud for MasterCard users in different banks in Kenya.
Cards such as Visa have already embraced this technology and now are offering safe transaction to customers rather than the magnetic strip technology.
The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has also set the deadline to switch to the new technology by March 2014.
“It is important that we move rapidly to safeguard consumer confidence. We believe the partnership with MasterCard today and the joint effort of all other stakeholders in “The Great Migration to EMV Chip” will further grow the momentum of the campaign and enable this market reap the benefits of a highly innovative and secure card payments industry,” Paynet Chief Executive Bernard Matthewman said.
“Kenya has recorded impressive growth in card usage in the last two years, with the value of card transactions rising over 74 per cent to one trillion shillings between January and December 2012 alone,” said James Wainaina, Vice President and Area Business Head for MasterCard in East Africa.
“But while we celebrate these gains, we also recognise that to maintain our momentum we must do everything within our power to put in place measures that make it impossible for fraudsters to operate, and to constantly assure our customers that their card transactions are safe.”
