euroConex introduces revolutionary chip

euroConex, the Irish-headquartered card payment processing solutions provider, established by Bank of Ireland and the US-based NOVA EuroConex Holdings Inc. has made Irish acquiring history by becoming the first Irish acquirer to deploy CHIP-enabled point-of-sale terminals in Europe.

The introduction of CHIP technology represents a revolutionary development in the way that consumers and retailers will interact and is set to change the face of point-of-sale payments over the next three years.

A CHIP card is a credit or debit card that contains an integrated circuit card, or 'CHIP'.

The cardholder's account information is embedded in the CHIP and is read by inserting the card into the CHIP reader on a specifically adapted electronic terminal.

CHIP cards are also referred to as smart cards because intelligence can be stored on the card using CHIP technology.

Visa and MasterCard in Europe mandated that all electronic terminals must be fully capable of supporting CHIP card processing by January 2005.

euroConex began working on the project to implement CHIP technology in January 2002 with significant input and assistance from external sources such as terminal suppliers and Card Schemes.

euroConex is currently in the process of replacing it's full electronic terminal base with CHIP-enabled devises.

The project will expand during 2003 to include euroConex's other product ranges and PIN-based functionality.