This card is made for e-shopping

Online shopping may offer a lot of conveniences but many people are still reluctant to avail themselves of its benefits.

Being scammed into paying for something they do not want is the least of their worries. What prevent many shoppers from going into cyberspace are reports of card skimming and phishing (acquiring sensitive personal information through fake e-mail), fraudulent use of credit cards and identity theft.

Paolo J. Baltao, senior vice president of UnionBank of the Philippines and head of the EON Banking Group, which develops product innovation using digital and mobile technologies and builds the bank’s digital business using digital channels and solutions, is well aware of concerns that putting sensitive personal information on cyberspace can lead to unauthorized credit card purchases.

Baltao has a personal stake in finding ways to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the risks of eCommerce.

He unabashedly admits shopping online is therapy for him. He says there are many advantages in eCommerce.

“Online you see a lot of deals. You can get (products and services) at half their regular prices or even much less. You can also get exactly what you are looking for, which you may not find even if you go around a mall,” he says.

Baltao adds, “I asked myself: How can I enjoy my ’therapy’ and be safe?”

That is how EON Duo, described as “the most secure credit card for online transactions,” came to be. A “virtual card,” Baltao says EON Duo is unlike those currently available, which are linked to an actual credit card.

EON Duo is a stand-alone card only to be used online. Thus, Baltao says a person can limit his/her use of actual plastic cards to face-to-face transactions to reduce the risk of being defrauded.

The EON Duo virtual credit card is designed for card-not-present transactions and may be accessed through a mobile application in smartphones using top-of-the-line biometric authentication technology to protect the user from fraud and identity theft.

It comes with several safety features.

EON Duo cardholders can nominate trusted online merchants where they expect to use their cards. This is expected to prevent unauthorized transactions in malicious websites, lessening the risk of their cards being used by anyone else.

Baltao says the customized list of merchants can be amended as client’s interests and preferences change.

Unlike in physical cards where the Card Verification Value (CVV), a security feature that credit card companies use to ensure that the client has the card on hand when making a transaction, remains the same, EON Duo has the dynamic CVV2.

An EON Duo user can generate a new CVV2, through the EON app, “anytime, anywhere on demand,” says Baltao, to avoid fraud.

EON Duo users can also lock and unlock their cards to protect their accounts from unauthorized purchases and other in-app transactions.

Baltao says the virtual card comes with a free EON account, hence the name. EON transactions are reflected in real time and are immediately posted, keeping the client abreast of the status of his/her card.

No supplementary cards will be issued for EON Duo and no cash advances may be made but the card may be used not just for online shopping but also for App purchases, says Baltao.

Anyone can apply for EON Duo, but it is highly recommended for people who frequently shop online or use cards for eCommerce transactions.

EON Duo applicants do not have to be UnionBank clients.

With EON Duo, Baltao hopes more people will be able to enjoy online shopping, perhaps even find it as therapeutic as he does. –CONTRIBUTED