Bankard, the fifth biggest credit card provider in the Philippines, is set to issue one-time password (OTP) to its over 550,000 clients as a way to combat card skimming, its president and CEO Simon Calasanz said.
Calasanz said the new OTP will be specifically for online purchases, which is now the most popular way of using credit cards. Bankard advised its clients not to divulge the OTP to anyone to avoid unauthorized purchases.
The re-issuance of such password for online purchases is the first in the country, the official said.
OTP for online purchases has been in used in several North American countries and Europe since the support of Windows XP, the operating system used by 80 percent of point-of-sales machines and some automated teller machines around the world, ended on April 30, 2014.
“Whenever you are issued OTP for your online purchases, never share it to anyone via phone or through mobile,” Calasanz said in an interview at the Bankard head office in Ortigas, Pasig.
A source in the credit card industry said most card skimming schemes today are done via online purchases. Because of this, Bankard issued a new card verification value (CVV) for its more than half a million card holders since January 2017.
CVV is the three-digit numbers found at the back of the card near the space for signature.
Bankard is one of the few credit card-issuing banks that was able to issue a new CVV alongside the replacement of magnetic strip card with Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) version beginning January 1, 2016.
“CVV is an anti-fraud feature to prove that you are in possession of your card. You must never share these numbers with others,” Calasanz, former president of Credit Card Association of the Philippines, emphasized. — Ayed Sison
