MasterCard Certifies AEON Bank as First in Japan to Deploy ATMs That Support EMV Chip

MasterCard has certified AEON Bank as the first financial institution in Japan to deploy ATMs that support EMV chip card transactions.

The EMV-compliant ATMs offer enhanced security for foreign-issued debit and credit cards. EMV is the international standard for IC chips used in payment card transactions. It ensures high security by encrypting the card information read and transmitted by ATMs and other terminals, helping to protect consumers from unauthorized use of their card data.

AEON Financial Service’s Executive Vice President, Masao Mizuno, said, “We are excited to offer customers more robust security with the upgrading of our ATMs to support EMV chip card transactions for the first time in Japan. We believe foreign visitors will appreciate the convenience, easy access and now the extra security of our ATMs in places such as airports, train stations and especially our AEON shopping malls. We will continue to explore opportunities to offer increasingly secure, convenient and rewarding financial services.”

Japan National Tourism Organization’s Executive Vice President, Kenji Jimbo, added, “I am very pleased by the deployment of EMV-compliant standard ATMs which is an important step in improving the financial security of consumers, especially at a time when travel to Japan is on the rise. On June 17th this year, the ministerial council meeting on the promotion of Japan as a tourism-oriented country has resolved an action plan that includes promoting the improvement of the payments infrastructure for foreign visitors, and we expect MasterCard and AEON Bank’s efforts to contribute towards this. We hope that this will be a catalyst for the industry-wide deployment of EMV. Increased financial security will help contribute to Japan’s reputation as a safe country and ultimately encourage more tourists to visit Japan.”