MasterCard raises awareness on payment card safety, security

MasterCard Worldwide recently conducted an intensive training session at its customer financial institutions and businesses in Nigeria to boost awareness regarding the safety and convenience associated with purchasing goods and services with payment cards.
In addition, the training, which held at Eko Hotel in Lagos, was targeted at demonstrating best practices with regard to issuance and acceptance of payment cards by banks and merchants.
The three-day training sessions, sponsored by MasterCard, were attended and supported locally by Guaranty Trust Bank, Skye Bank, First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Bank PHB, Intercontinental Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Ecobank, and Zenith Bank.
At the workshop, MasterCard highlighted issues that face the global payment card industry, including: card security features, card fraud types, merchant best practices, charge backs, the Nigerian payment market and general customer service trends.
“Payment cards such as debit cards and credit cards, and security technologies such as Chip and PIN, and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) all contribute to making payments more convenient, safer and cost-effective than carrying cash or using cheques,” said Daniel Monehin, area head, East and West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide.
“However, there is a clear need to raise awareness on how to accept and use payment cards responsibly, and to ensure that businesses are quickly able to identify genuine payment cards when they are presented at point of sale for payment,” he added.
As a leader in payment card security and an active participant in helping markets develop their local payment systems, MasterCard’s efforts aim to help every segment of the Nigerian payments industry offer safe and convenient payment alternatives to their customers.
“There is nothing more critical than keeping businesses secure from fraud and facilitating the effective rollout of safe and convenient payment systems based on industry best practices.

MasterCard continues to develop and implement new programmes to advance data protection and promote the responsible use of payment cards, and remains fiercely committed to advancing secure payments systems throughout Nigeria,” explained Monehin.

URL: http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/investor/companies-and-market/20789-mastercard-raises-awareness-on-payment-card-safety-security