YEREVAN, March 14, /ARKA/. HSBC Bank Armenia said it has introduced a new card insurance service to the market. The service is aimed at protecting ATM and MasterCard international card users from certain risks.
In a press release the bank said Card Insurance covers losses that occur as a result of cards being lost, stolen or skimmed and subsequently being used for transactions not authorized by the customer.
“The usage of ATM and credit cards is very widespread and provides great convenience to customers, but as usage has increased so has the incidence of fraud, particularly for customers traveling outside Armenia. For this reason we decided to introduce card insurance, so that customers can protect themselves from such risks”, - HSBC Bank Armenia Chief Executive Officer Astrid Clifford was quoted as saying.
In 2011 HSBC Bank Armenia  issued 17,800 ATM and 2,400 credit and payment cards, an increase of 38% compared with 2010. Utilization volume of ATM and credit card in 2011 were AMD 21 billion and AMD 61 billion respectively.
JSC HSBC Bank Armenia is a member of HSBC Bank plc. It was registered in Armenia in 1995. Its shareholders are HSBC Europe BV that owns a 70% stake and Wings Establishment (30%). HSBC Bank Armenia joined NASDAQ OMX Armenia stock exchange in 2009. ($1- 389.67 drams). -0-