Visa Launches First Debit Product in Canada

Debit card issued by CIBC offers consumers more choice, greater acceptance and enhanced security

TORONTO, Oct. 18 /CNW/ - Visa Canada today announced the launch of the company's first debit cards in the Canadian marketplace.  CIBC is the first Canadian issuer to offer Visa Debit through its CIBC Advantage Card, which will be available in branches beginning today. In Canada, the CIBC Advantage Card will provide Canadian consumers with the ability to shop widely online, by phone or mail and in more than 200 countries and territories around the world using funds directly from their bank accounts. 

"Visa has supported the adoption of debit as a convenient and secure payment alternative for consumers and businesses around the globe for more than 20 years, and we are pleased to bring more choice and added benefits to Canadian consumers with the introduction of Visa Debit," said Tim Wilson, Head of Visa Canada. "Visa Debit's expanded functionality enables consumers to shop online, over the phone, in-store at millions of merchant locations internationally, or to set-up recurring bill payments - with all the security features and protections that come with using a Visa card."

Debit cardholders will continue to be able to withdraw cash from automated banking machines (ABMs) and purchase goods and services at a Canadian merchant with funds directly from their bank account.  At the register, the CIBC Advantage Card will be processed through Interac®, Canada's existing debit network.

Purchases made online, over the phone, by mail or internationally will be processed over Visa's network and will offer purchase protection with Visa's multiple layers of security including:

• Visa Zero Liability Policy - Visa cardholders are not liable for unauthorized use of their card if their card is lost, stolen or if their card number is used fraudulently.
• The Visa E-Promise - provides additional protection when using a Visa card to shop online, by mail, or by phone if the cardholder has tried, and has been unsuccessful, in resolving a dispute directly with the merchant. 
• Verified by Visa (VbV) - offers greater protection against unauthorized use of Visa cards online, by registering a password and shopping online at VbV enabled merchants.
• Three-digit code (CVV2) - provides a crucial security feature on the back of Visa cards that helps merchants validate purchases made with Visa cards online and by phone.

All Visa Debit cards in Canada will also be chip-enabled, complementing Visa's migration to chip technology in Canada.

According to a recent Visa survey, 70 percent of Canadian consumers expressed interest in a debit card that enabled them to purchase goods and services online. 65 percent of Canadians want to use their debit card when shopping in the United States and internationally.  

Consumers around the world are voting with their wallets and increasingly turning to debit because it offers greater money management and control, security, and convenience over cash and cheques - with acceptance at millions of merchant locations worldwide.  For the 12 months ended June 30, 2010, payments volume on Visa Debit cards grew at 18 percent; similarly, transactions on Visa Debit cards increased by 18 percent, as consumers continue to migrate spending once made with cash and cheques to electronic payments. 

Visa Debit cards are accepted at millions of merchant outlets and over 1.7 million ABMs around the globe.

For more information on Visa Debit, go to Visa.ca/debit. 

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency.  Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants.  Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers.  Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products.  For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

Visa Survey

The survey was conducted independently by Pollara on behalf of Visa Canada.  The survey was fielded between September 15th and 17th, 2010.  No quotas were set, but upon completion of the survey the data was weighted by age, gender and region to ensure that the results shown are representative of the opinions of the Canadian general public 18 years of age and older. The results are considered accurate to ±2.19% nineteen times out of twenty.

® Trade-mark of Interac Inc.

For further information:

Melissa Cassar, Visa, 416-860-3939, [email protected]

Sarah Van Lange, Fleishman-Hillard, 416-645-8173, [email protected]