Visa provides Contactless EMV® Chip Standards to the Association of Banks in Cambodia to drive payment card interoperability

11/23/2021

 

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) extending access to Visa’s contactless EMV® chip¹ standards to strengthen the domestic payment ecosystem and support the Cambodian Shared Switch (CSS) network to co-badge with other international card schemes.

Since 2019, Visa offered its EMV® chip standards to the ABC as the national chip specification to accelerate the migration of magnetic stripe payment cards to secure contact EMV® chip technology.

As part of the MOU signed today, Visa will work together with the Association of Banks in Cambodia to support the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) in developing the domestic payments system. By co-badging cards with Visa technology, payments can be processed through Visa’s advanced global processing network, VisaNet, providing fast, secure and reliable payments around the world.

“The CSS co-badge aligns with the NBC’s directive and will accelerate the development of the digital payments in Cambodia,” shared Dr In Channy, Chairman of the Association of Banks in Cambodia. “It will also elevate security standards for the benefit of the entire ecosystem. The Association of Banks urges all of its members to join the CSS co-badge to ensure implementation as soon as possible.”

As all commercial banks and Microfinance Deposit Taking Institutes are required to join the CSS network, the co-badging pledge will effectively raise security standards across the entire Cambodian payments system.

Ms. Monika Chum, Visa Country Manager for Cambodia, said: “Providing our technology for co-badging to commercial banks and Microfinance Deposit Taking Institutes is a testament to Visa’s commitment to the market. This will allow the entire payments industry to benefit from our world-leading technology, supporting the local payments ecosystem to grow more robust.”

Under the MOU signed with ABC, Visa has also agreed to invest in white plastic review and support the CSS network in this work. For ABC members that choose to co-badge with other international card schemes, Visa has pledged to connect them with third party companies for the relevant services.

The Cambodian Shared Switch is a project by the National Bank of Cambodia to support the interoperability of proprietary debit cards at ATM and POS terminals across Cambodia.

 

 

¹ EMV® is a registered trademark or trademark of EMVCo LLC in the United States and other countries.

 

About ABC

The Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC) was formed in 1994 and recognized by the Royal Government of Cambodia as the official entity to represent Cambodia’s private banking sector. In 1997, ABC was officially recognized by the Council of Ministers. ABC has become the 8th member of the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA) in 1999. ABC is operated under the frame of the Law on Banking and Financing Institution, 1999 and its Articles that was approved on the 28th August 2001 and registered at the National Bank of Cambodia on 2nd October 2001. Finally, on the 23rd November 2012, ABC had officially registered with the Ministry of Interior.

The Association aims to support the development of Cambodian banking sector that is strong. ABC has played active and vital roles in promoting the constructive dialogues and cooperation with its members, the National Bank of Cambodia, and other stakeholders at national and regional levels to strengthen the capacity and address the challenges, which have been occurring at national and regional levels to uphold  healthy finance and enough professionalism of banks and financial institutions that supports the rapid growth of the economy in a balanced and sustainable manner, and that are in line with the ASEAN’s economic integration.

Currently, ABC has 65 members including 45 Commercial Banks, 15 Specialized Banks, 01 Cambodian Microfinance Association (CMA) and 04 Representative Offices of the Banks located in Cambodia.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.