Al Salam Bank Bahrain launches first chip-based ATM Card

EMV, the initials of the three main card companies Europay, Mastercard and Visa, is the name given to the standard developed by these companies, which allows point of sale (POS) and ATM machines to securely read and transmit card information to Al Salam Bank's state-of-the-art systems, thus demolishing the possibility of "counterfeiting" and other fraudulent use of existing magnetic tape-based cards.

Commenting on the launch, Mr Nabeel Al Tattan, Executive Vice President and Banking Group Head at Al Salam Bank said: "We are pleased to be the first in the Kingdom of Bahrain to announce yet another innovative product, inspired by the Bahraini government initiatives of "electronic government" and "chip-based identity card", and in line with the Bank's strategy to provide sophisticated Shari'a compliant services".

Nabeel added: "The EMV chip-based secure card is certified by Visa International and will be accepted in ATM's and POS terminals worldwide. It is also certified by BENEFIT to use BENEFIT and GCCNET switches for transactions in Bahrain and other GCC countries". He added: "Al-Salam Bank has outsourced its ATM services to EURONET Middle East, a worldwide renowned electronic payments provider, and we are also delighted to announce that Al Salam Bank will soon be launching Shari'ah compliant chip-based credit card, in one of many planned initiatives designed to enhance the high quality of services Al Salam provides to its clients in Bahrain and throughout the GCC Region".

Mr Abdulwahid Janahi, General Manager The BENEFIT Company, which operates the national switch system in Bahrain, praised Al Salam Bank's initiative for being the first bank in Bahrain to issue chip-based ATM cards. He added "In November 2006, Benefit Company began implementing a testing and certification plan to assist all its commercial banks member in Bahrain to upgrade their existing ATM cards and machines to the new chip-based standard EMV. Several Banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain has started this process for which Al Salam Bank is one of the first banks to complete the testing and certification requirements."