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ATMIA address PIN authentication at ATMs

July 15, 2007

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LONDON - The ATM Industry Association says the use of PINs at ATMs for cardholder authentication is effective and secure.

On July 16, the association announced the release of a position paper that it says reaffirms the industry's faith in the PIN.

"Any attempt to mandate the use of biometrics at ATMs would be foolish and counter-productive," said Mike Lee, ATMIA's chief executive. "ATMIA upholds the security, convenience and success of the PIN. What is needed in the current fraud climate is more customer education on PIN protection, not a change to what has been the preferred customer authentication device in self-service banking for almost 40 years."

According to ATMIA, the PIN is an "inexpensive" and "tried-and-tested" method of authenticating a bank customer's identity for both ATM and point-of-sale transactions.

The PIN is part of a two-factor authentication system - the magnetic-stripe or chip contains unique account data, while the PIN is unique to the customer. If a customer's ATM card is stolen but the PIN remains unknown to the fraudster, no fraudulent cash withdrawal can take place, ATMIA says.

The position paper argues that the PIN is patently more secure than signature-based electronic transactions. Throughout Europe, the traditional in-store credit card signing process is being replaced with a system that requires customers to enter PINs instead of signing.

For more information, contact Mike Lee.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

ATMIA is the leading non-profit representing the global ATM industry, serving thousands of members across 500 companies, including financial institutions, deployers, manufacturers, and service providers. As a division of, ePayResources, our mission is to promote ATM growth and usage, protect industry interests.

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