Smart money is on new Member States, says Visa

Date: 08/07/04

BANKS in the EU's new member states are already leapfrogging "old Europe" when it comes to the payment systems used by their customers, according to bank-card giants Visa.

Visa and its rival MasterCard are rolling out smart new cards - with built-in chips combined with pin number protection - to combat fraud and speed up transactions.

But Visa Europe director Marc Temmerman said the mainly ex- communist bloc states that joined the Union on 1 May are at the front of the queue to adopt the new technology.

"They are leapfrogging. It happened in Spain 20 years ago. They went straight from cash to plastic without bothering with cheques.

"In the new member states they are jumping from cash to chip cards," said Temmerman, adding that banks and customers in Poland - the biggest new member state - have led the way.

The message that the new member states are up to speed is likely to bolster European Commission efforts to set common EU-wide rules for money-payment systems across the 25 member states.

The law will cover issues such as liability of banks and consumers when card fraud is suspected.

The Commission favours a €150 limit on customer liability, provided consumers have not acted negligently.

Internal market officials plan to launch a draft directive in October.

http://www.visaeu.com/pressandmedia/chipandpinfactsandfuture.html http://www.visaeu.com/pressandmedia/chipandpinfactsandfuture.html

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