FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (05/03/2000) - MasterCard International Inc. plans to replace the magnetic-stripe cards of its subscribers in Brazil with chip-based smart cards, the company announced today.
To accomplish the migration, scheduled to start in September, MasterCard will work with all its member banks in Brazil, including Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Itau SA, the company said.
The new smart cards will help prevent fraud, improve transaction processing, acquire and retain customers and promote e-commerce, the company said.
MasterCard is launching this migration in Brazil because there is a big market potential in this country of 170 million people where about 40 million debit and credit cards are currently in use, the company said.
MasterCard, in Purchase, New York, is at http://www.mastercard.com/.