Changes for ATB Financial’s ABM Network

Work is underway to ensure our ABMs are ready to accept Chip cards by summer 2008. To process Chip transactions, our fleet of existing ABMs will be replaced and new software will be applied. Customers will not notice the change in software, but will notice the new look of the updated ABM models.

Changes to ATB Debit Cards

ATB will meet the Interac compliance dates and all ATB customers’ debit cards will be Chip enabled by December 31, 2012. As the existing magnetic strip technology will still be present in the marketplace, the new cards will have both Chip and magnetic stripe capabilities. ATB will be implementing the new technology with a phased approach and will comply with industry standards.

To conduct a Chip transaction, a Chip card is used in conjunction with a Chip terminal. The customer inserts the credit or debit card into the terminal and ensures their card remains in the terminal while they enter their PIN to complete the transaction. For credit card transactions, PIN verification replaces signatures and is used as authorization. For debit users, the Chip transaction process is a minor change, with customers retaining control of the card.

Customers do not need to do anything in the mean time. As we begin introducing the Chip enabled debit products, existing customers will receive their new chip debit card on their card’s expiry date and new customers will receive a chip debit card when they open a new account.