News

Bank launches first Visa EMV dual-interface card in China

July 17, 2008

BEIJING — The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest financial institution in the world, is issuing China's first Visa EMV payment card, which allows both contactless and contact-based payment.

According to a news release, cardholders can pay for purchases by swiping the Visa payWave card across a contactless POS terminal, or by inserting the card into the slot of a card reader.

The dual interface cards, which can generate loyalty points for customers, are being issued in partnership with Asian retail group Parkson in China.

ICBC and Parkson plan to issue the Peony Parkson credit card to thousands of bank and retail customers this year.

The Chinese subsidiary of Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient has been selected to supply the cards to ICBC.