By Suria Rina PHA
Baiduri Bank yesterday launched the first Visa platinum credit card in the country based on the cutting edge EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) technology that offers the highest level of security, giving cardmembers added peace of mind as well as limitless flexibility and global prestige.
Present to officiate the launch yesterday at the Empire Hotel and Country Club was His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office.
On arrival, the Crown Prince was greeted by Baiduri Bank's general manager Pierre Imhof and other senior officers.
Also present at the ceremony were distinguished guests, ministers, senior government officials and other invited guests.
Imhof, in his speech, said, "We are continually expanding the range of products and services available to Baiduri Bank customers who are becoming increasingly sophisticated and discerning.
"The new Baiduri Visa Platinum Card is a very significant and premier addition to our payment card portfolio. This card will complement the existing range of financial products, services and value-added benefits that we are offering to our customers."
He also highlighted that Baiduri Bank is the first bank in the country to issue chip-enabled EMV cards to its cardholders, and simultaneously offer updated terminals that are able to read such cards to its merchants.
Later, Imhof presented a pesambah to the Crown Prince, before touring an exhibition that displayed a range of products and services of Baiduri Bank.
HRH also consented to sign a plaque and take part in a photo session with Baiduri Bank personnel before the conclusion of the ceremony.
The Baiduri Visa Platinum Card is the first EMV chip card in the country that is based on the dynamic data authentication (DDA) - an anti-counterfeiting technology that provides a high level of protection against skimming, an illegal practice of copying data from a card for fraudulent transactions.
In addition, the card is also the first Visa card with the new Visa brand identity and architecture, which incorporates enhanced fraud protection features. The well-known Visa dove hologram on the front of the card has been moved to the back and integrated with the magnetic stripe, making counterfeiting more difficult.
"Cardmembers enjoy instant recognition at millions of establishments worldwide, as well as access to over 700,000 ATMs in the Visa Global ATM Network. They also enjoy complementary, round-the-clock concierge service anywhere in the world, available through the Visa Platinum Customer Centre or web-enabled Concierge Online service," the bank said in its press release.
For more information, call Baiduri Card Centre's customer service helpdesk at 245 4187.
(12th Dec 2006)
