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Friday, 25 November 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Commercial Bank Chairman Dharma Dheerasinghe and Managing Director Jegan Durairatnam present the first NFC-enabled Visa and Mastercard credit cards launched by the bank
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has become the first bank in Sri Lanka to offer Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled credit cards of both Visa and Mastercard, two of the leading brands in the sphere.
Formally launched in Colombo on Wednesday, 23 November, Commercial Bank’s Visa Infinite, World Mastercard and Visa Signature branded NFC credit cards are targeted at premium customers, the bank said.
Near Field communication is a set of communication protocols that enable the chip mounted on the credit card to establish contactless communication with a portable device such as a smartphone or NFC enabled point-of-sale unit by bringing the two within about four centimetres of each other.
NFC enabled credit cards are more secure than those with magnetic strips and their contactless communication capability means that holders of NFC-enabled cards need not relinquish their cards to third parties when making a payment via a terminal or device with the same technology.
Speaking at the launch of NFC-enabled credit cards from Visa and Mastercard, Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Jegan Durairatnam said: “Commercial Bank is proud to be the first bank in Sri Lanka to launch NFC-enabled credit cards from both the Visa and Mastercard brands. These cards are designed to offer the most premium facilities to customers who enjoy the finer things in life.”
Durairatnam also remarked that the bank was particularly proud to bring two competing giants in the cards business onto the same platform at a launch event.
The first two NFC-enabled credit cards issued by Commercial Bank were presented to Indra Silva and Nisreen Jafferjee at the launch event.
Holders of Commercial Bank’s NFC-enabled credit cards will be eligible for numerous exclusive benefits local and internationally, including upgrades at premium hotels, access to premium airport lounges, premium travel experiences, offers at gourmet restaurants, special shopping offers and concierge services, the bank said. NFC technology evolved from radio-frequency identification or RFID, the technology used by shipping companies, in large warehouses, and in superstores to keep track of goods. It uses electromagnetic induction in order to transmit information over a short space so that by simply scanning a container, a staff member can know what it contains.
The NFC standard has three modes of operation: the peer-to-peer mode that lets two smartphones swap data, a read/write mode in which one active device picks up info from a passive one and card emulation, in which an NFC device such as a smartphone can be used like a contactless credit card. The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for six years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 251 branches and 650 ATMs in Sri Lanka.
