Credit Cards Online Information

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the nation's second largest bank, recently unveiled the country's first virtual credit card system called the BPI E-Credit targeted to security-conscious customers making frequent purchases on the Internet.

Josephine Ocampo, BPI's president for card banking division said that E-Credit is an extended virtual account for holders of BPI MasterCard. It would allow its customers to make Internet purchases without using physical cards.

The E-Credit system, which is exclusive to BPI MasterCard users, creates an account for card owners and would automatically grant a 50 percent credit limit for purchases made on the Web, based on customers' existing credit line. A separate account number and card verification code (CVC) for the E-Credit card would be issued to the holder of the physical MasterCard.

The account number and CVC of the E-Credit card then would be entered into the order field of a merchant Web site, instead of the information on the customer's physical MasterCard

An applicant for the E-Credit can choose to place any desired amount into the E-Credit account, which could range between 5,000 pesos ($94) to a maximum of 50,000 pesos ($936) at present. Ocampo said this particular option would help manage the buying behavior of cardholders. He said though the maximum amount would eventually be raised depending on the future needs of clients.

"The customer is given all the freedom and convenience needed for buying items online, but it could also discourage compulsive buying," she quipped.

The same self-restraining method also secures accounts of cardholders against credit card hackers since the use of the E-Credit card numbers are only exclusive to Internet purchases. "There is no way the numbers could be used for traditional purchases that are coursed through regular stores," Ocampo said.

Whenever a purchase has been made using E-Credit, the amount will be deducted from its physical MasterCard's online counterpart. The deduction would then be reflected on the MasterCard holder's monthly statement of account.

Nevertheless, customers could also check their accounts for both MasterCard and E-Credit through BPI Express Online (www.bpiexpressonline.com), BPI's Web site launched early this year to help customers check their savings accounts and keep track of their credit line in real time.

Ocampo added that the whole system would be fully operational by the end of the month, though applications can already be made through all of their branches or via the Web. Initially, BPI is aiming to convince around half of its 150,000 BPI MasterCard users to also get E-Credit card accounts by the end of the year.

"We also hope to get the same number for our Expressnet ATM users until the early part of next year," she said.

Ocampo predicted that Filipinos' use of the Internet for online purchasing would gradually increase within the next two years, despite the low usage of the Internet in the Philippines, which reportedly counts only about 2 million users.

"We're helping to promote the future of online purchasing by providing the service now," Ocampo said.

William Reyes, BPI MasterCard product manager added that the launching of E-Credit also coincides with the bank's upcoming promotions for the next four months, the first two months of which are often considered as early preparation for the Yuletide season.