Canada's Threshold offers in-branch issuance of EMV cards
September 27, 2009
Threshold Financial Technologies Inc. has signed with United States-based Dynamic Card Solutions to offer instant issuance and PIN selection for EMV and contactless cards in Canada.
According to a news release, DCS's patented CardWizard software will be offered to Canadian financial institutions through Threshold, a payment-processing and card-issuing provider that works with more than 65 FIs throughout Canada. The companies say the partnership allows Threshold's card-issuing clients to transition from magnetic stripe cards to chip and PIN cards, offering cardholders in-branch PIN selection, PIN change and instantly personalized chip cards.
The deal marks the first major in-branch EMV card-issuance and PIN-management initiative of its kind in Canada.
CardWizard complies with issuing guidelines from Interac, VISA and MasterCard.
Matthew McIver, president of Threshold, says the deal with DCS will help Canadian FIs comply with EMV guidelines and card migration:
The DCS partnership is strategically important, as it enables our clients to quickly and cost-effectively deploy in-branch EMV card-issuance and PIN-change systems at a fraction of the cost if they were implementing them on a standalone basis. With Threshold investing in the centralized infrastructure, we can provide our clients with a high-quality, affordable managed service.
CardWizard is a modular software application used by hundreds of banks, credit unions and retailers to instantly issue Visa and MasterCard products in thousands of locations worldwide.
The software and EMV infrastructure are installed in the issuer's central computer room, allowing high security and centralized control. Card printing or embossing machines are distributed at the remote-issuance locations along with PIN-selection and/or PIN-change terminals. CardWizard instant issue software supports the full array of card types from virtually all manufacturers, as well as contactless and magnetic stripe card personalization.