News

Bank of America offers EMV chip cards to U.S. international travelers

November 7, 2011

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a global commercial card provider to corporate and government entities, today announced that it would be expanding its offering of chip and PIN technology to corporate cards for U.S. international travelers.

Chip technology, which is also known as EMV (EuroPay Mastercard Visa), allows card holders to make payments through chip-card readers that are widely used in countries outside the U.S. The new cards can continue to be read by traditional magnetic stripe readers where chip is not available. BofA Merrill will begin issuing the cards in the U.S. in first quarter 2012.

"Corporate travel cards help clients manage the complexity that comes with a growing volume of employees who travel abroad. We are very pleased to now offer our U.S. clients an improved solution that advances their convenience and security," said Kevin Phalen, head of Commercial Cards and Comprehensive Payables, BofA Merrill.

He added that the company is working closely with Visa and MasterCard to ensure that the cards will be immediately accepted upon rollout.

For more information on this topic, visit our EMV research center.