OREANDA-NEWS. September 21, 2010. “Unibank” took first place in the banking system of Armenia on the number of issued international cards among the bank-members of Armenian Card payment system (ARCA). On September 1st, 2010 number of issued cards amounted 60.000 (sixty thousand), of which 48 046 - Visa international cards. The growth number of issued cards over the last three months amounted more than 25%. Up to the end of the year, the Bank plans to increase the number of issued cards up to 100.000 (hundred thousand). Unibank also occupies the leading position on the number of placed ATMs (70) and POS-terminals (656), reported the press-centre of Unibank.

Since 2004, Unibank has actively engaged in the card business, becoming a member of Visa. These figures confirm the successful results of Bank activity on the Bank priority directions. Unibank confidently reach the planned goals maintaining the dynamic of growth in key indicators. "The card market is more perspective direction of retail banking development. We have always given high importance to the development of this direction. This was expressed not only in the bank's policy to attract maximum possible number of customers, but also that we have always sought to create interesting technologically prepared card programs, namely, to provide the product with interesting and convenient options for the customer. For example, under the new processing there is planned to issue multi-currency cards, suggesting attachment to a card of several accounts in different currencies. That is, not only multicurrency, but multicard multicurrency, which is beneficial with relation to the use of any currency at the right moment – says the director of Retail business "Unibank" Mesrop Hakobyan.

In addition of this, with the issuance of chip cards, we intend to introduce a system of the active-control fraud (fraud on), widely used in western banks which will automatically detect suspicious transactions and independently, based on artificial intelligence, make the decisions. For example, if the system detects that the cardholder realizes an operation on a card in Armenia, then 3 hours later, on the same card in Paris and in London, there would be immediately appeared some doubts and the card would be blocked. Then, the system itself will generate a SMS to the client to be confirmed by himself about the authenticity of the operation, and only after receiving a reply, the card will be activated. It means that fraud-control system also acts as a kind of operator on duty around the clock. We have already acquired a quite serious program on active fraud –control and start its testing".

In October, Unibank plans to begin mass production of chip Visa cards through its own processing center and the cards will be of different categories from Electron to Gold. In addition, “Unibank” is going to issue Visa Infinite cards, which include all the possibilities peculiar to the Premium class, including, worldwide concierge service stations, assistance in making travel arrangements, booking flights, hotels, tickets to cultural-massive events, document delivery, gifts and etc.

In case of Visa Infinite, there is active cardholders round the clock support service - providing information, blocking, emergency card replacement and delivery of cash in case of loss or theft, medical and legal support on the phone, organizing emergency assistance all over the world.

Mesrop Hakobyan also informed that 'Unibank " plans to receive the quality certificate from Visa in this autumn, and in 2011 - international certificate of compliance with PCI DSS standards.