HDFC
Bank and VISA launch India's first virtual card for
e-commerce
Our
Banking Bureau
28 January 2004
Mumbai:
HDFC Bank today announced the launch of the country's
first virtual card — called NetSafe — along
with Visa International.
Linked
to the customer's existing international Debit or Credit
cards, NetSafe eliminates the need for disclosing the
card number while making credit /debit card payments
for online shopping and virtually eliminates the risk
of cyber fraud. It also saves cardholders from exposing
their credit limits or account balances to potential
cyber criminals lurking in the anonymity of the web.
Announcing
the launch of NetSafe at a press conference in Mumbai,
today Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank said,
"NetSafe will enable HDFC Bank cardholders realise
the full value of their debit and credit cards, even
on the internet. Possibly, this could just be the catalyst
that was needed for the much-awaited explosion of e-commerce
in India."
Also
speaking on the occasion, Uttam Nayak, Visa International's
deputy country manager — South Asia, said, "One
of the key concerns for online shoppers is security
of payment. NetSafe will add greater security to on-line
credit and debit card payment and overcome one of the
greatest barriers to online shopping - the trust in
using a payment card online."
Nayak
felt that NetSafe would bring the same level of convenience,
acceptance and security to the virtual world as Visa
has in the physical world. "Given the rapid growth
of Internet usage in India along with the rapid growth
of credit and debit card usage, Visa anticipates significant
e-commerce growth in India over the next three to five
years," he added.
To
shop online, existing HDFC Bank cardholders can create
a virtual card on their existing debit or credit card
with a pre-defined limit, valid only for a short time
or a single transaction after which the card ceases
to exist. For example, if a customer wishes to buy something
from a particular site worth Rs 500, she can create
her own NetSafe card where she is allotted a single
use card number with a limit of just Rs 500 which is
debited to her credit or debit card.
In
the event that the customer fails to use NetSafe within
24 hours of creating the card, the card simply disappears
and the credit limit or amount in account is reverted
back to the customer's credit / debit card.
How
to Register for NetSafe
HDFC
Bank has a network of 277 branches and over 850 ATMs
across 148 cities, In the quarter ended December 31,
2003, it reported a 31.8 per cent jump in net profit
to Rs 130.4 crore and 38.9 per cent rise in deposit
base to Rs 29,606 crore. For more information log onto
www.hdfcbank.com
This
is yet another tech-based pioneering product from HDFC
Bank:
