"Hansabankas" Introduced Safer Payment Cards Intended for Enterprises
2005-07-14 Back
"Hansabankas", as a member of the largest group of financial services in the Baltic States, started offering microchip "VISA Business Electron" payment cards intended for business clients. Up to now microchip cards in Lithuania were used only by private clients.
A renewed and more up-to-date "VISA Business Electron" card with integrated microprocessor is a more reliable means of protection of the client's data than a magnetic track. Having effected settlement for purchases with these cards in places equipped with electronic microchip card reading devices, operations are confirmed by a PIN code, which guarantees higher degree of safety of financial funds held in the account than an ordinary signature. A microchip payment card has been developed using advanced technologies, however its price paid by clients did change: the annual fee for supplementing the card is LTL 9. New "VISA Business Electron" microchip cards of "Hansabankas" are valid for three years.
"The safety of funds is important to enterprises no less than to private individuals, therefore, microchip business cards were a planned and expected product. During two years of presentation of the first microchip cards in Lithuania we have also developed the best qualities of microchip cards as of the safe and modern product, also paying the greatest possible attention to the implementation of microchip technologies in the electronic card reading devices. So I think, that microchip business cards have appeared in a particularly good time", - said Vitalij Rancev, "Hansabankas" Payment Cards Department Director. In his opinion, the enterprise managers should also find the three-year validity period of microchip cards as being of great convenience. Up to now business cards had to be renewed every year.
In the beginning of July, "Hansabankas" had issued 931,4 thousands of active payment cards. Modern and particularly safe microchip cards presently account for 68 per cent of all payment cards issued by "Hansabankas". Nearly half of more than 4,2 thousand of electronic card readers of "Hansabankas" operate on the basis of microchip technology. "The number of payment cards issued by "Hansabankas" to its business clients stands at about 10 thousand.
According to the data of "Visa Europe", by the end of 2004, European banks had issued 6,4 million "Visa" business cards. During 2004, the number of issued payment cards increased by 27 per cent.
"Hansabankas" was the first bank in Lithuania which in August 2003 issued international microchip cards. All microchip cards issued by "Hansabankas" until now belong to VISA system.
"Hansabankas" belongs to the largest group of financial services in the Baltic States whose strategic investor is the Swedish "Swedbank". In Lithuania "Hansabank" Group includes "Hansa lizingas", "Hansa gyvybės draudimas", "Hansa investicijų valdymas", "Baltijos autolizingas" and "Hansa valda".
