Customers of Commerzbank AG can now take their debit and credit cards home with them just minutes after opening their account at a bank branch. Customers can use their credit cards for payments at supermarket checkouts just 20 minutes after leaving the branch, although for security reasons Commerzbank Girocards cannot be used until the next day.
This pioneering scheme came about as a result of the close partnership between Commerzbank AG and the Munich-based technology group Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) The complete system for issuing payment cards directly in Commerzbank branches was developed and set up by G&D, with the security-related processes being managed in a highly secure G&D data center. Known as an "instant issuance" service, this system is being implemented in Germany for the first time at three selected Commerzbank AG sites.
Thanks to the "Convego System Instant Issuance" solution from G&D, Commerzbank AG can hand out debit and credit cards to customers as soon as they request one at two of its branches in Berlin and one in Stuttgart. The range of cards available includes Girocards, MasterCard Standard and Gold cards and MasterCard Premium dual interface cards. "As far as our new customers are concerned, issuing Girocards and our credit cards directly in the branch offers real added value and is an experience it itself," says Sylvia Vandeven, Head of the Cards department at Commerzbank AG. "We are the first bank in Germany to offer this convenience without compromising on security." A similarly high level of security also applies to the personalization of the payment card, which is carried out to the standards of highly secure personalization centers run by card manufacturers such as Giesecke & Devrient.
The instant issuance solution installed by G&D is made up of several key components. The security company supplies the hardware set up in the branch, which consists of PCs and a VPN router, as well as the personalization system for personalizing the cards electronically and visually. The "data generation" process, which prepares the customer's security data for chip-based card personalization, takes place via a backend server component in G&D's highly secure data center. This is connected to the PC and the personalization system in the branch via a secure data channel. The client component of the instant issuance solution, which ensures that the system can be operated easily by staff at the branch, is installed on the PC.
"The implementation of the highly secure instant issuance solution is the result of many years of cooperation between our two companies. With this solution, we are demonstrating our leading technological expertise in electronic payments," says Andreas Räschmeier, Group Vice President Marketing and Sales Financial Institutions, Mobile Security at G&D. "Commerzbank AG now has a technical platform that will enable it to quickly implement the instant issuance solution at other branches too as required."
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