AMERICAS INTERVIEW
I’d like to understand more about EMV and the reduction of fraud. If when consumers go to the store to make a purchase and I am asked to sign for it versus entering my PIN, is this transaction as secure as when my PIN is entered or is the security reduced? Ajay Bhalla: Our approach to security is multi-layered but we know that fraud still occurs from time to time. This is why we rolled out our Zero Liability protection globally so that each consumer around the world using a MasterCard product is protected from fraud. This is an industry first global protection and I am very proud of this work. In terms of EMV specifically - EMV protects against counterfeit fraud. It provides a very strong method of proving that the card being used is in fact the genuine card, by ensuring that every transaction is signed
cryptographically – and only the genuine card can do that. There’s no doubt that in EMV markets around the world, the drop in counterfeit fraud rates has been the single biggest benefit of EMV. In terms of PIN vs Signature, I will say that MasterCard supports both chip-andsignature and chip-and-PIN. Ultimately, it’s up to the issuer to decide which technology to implement. I recently had someone create a duplicate card and try to make purchases but my card issuer knew immediately and blocked the transactions and contacted me. Is this because the fake card didn’t issue the dynamic data? Ajay Bhalla: Our philosophy about layers of security is important to note here. Each and every payment transaction you make is
protected with multiple layers of security – whether we are securing the account, the cardholder or the transaction itself. In addition, there has been a consistent level of investment by the industry regarding common global standards like PCI-DSS and individually by organizations in their systems including issuers, acquirers, networks, and others to eradicate fraud from the system. Everyone in the payments industry is working together fight fraud. The example you site specifically is an excellent example. Cloning mag-stripe data is the source of most counterfeit fraud. It is extremely difficult to clone the chip on an EMV card. Your bank will be on the lookout for transactions that are not unique or have been seen before and will act accordingly. Issue 3
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