Visa will work with the financial services industry and retailers to implement a five-year agenda for New Zealand to strengthen the security of the payments system. 

All of the initiatives will provide greater protection against fraud for cardholders, merchants and financial institutions, while some will also help to reduce the time it takes to make an electronic transaction.

These initiatives are aimed at keeping fraud low into the future and will address online fraud; fraud resulting from lost, stolen and counterfeit cards and from the possible theft of personal information.

The seven key initiatives planned for implementation within the next five years are: 

• Moving to 100 percent chip card issuance; 
• Ensuring all merchant terminals in New Zealand are chip-capable and operational; 
• Introducing a broad rollout of PIN (Personal Identification Number) verification and ending the use of signature for domestic transactions; 
• Ensuring all Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are chip-enabled and activated. 
• Enrolling all cardholders in the online authentication system Verified by Visa; 
• Requiring all online merchants in New Zealand to check the three-digit security code (Cardholder Verification Value 2) on the back of the card; and 
• Ensuring higher levels of data security protection at “Level Four” eCommerce merchants.