What is Chip and PIN (Personal Identification Number)?
Chip and PIN is a smart card payment system that provides an extra level of security for your cards. This means you will be required to enter your PIN in order to complete your transactions with merchants giving you increased and better security when making retail transactions.
Why PIN creation is important?
With Chip and PIN-enabled cards, you are required to use your PIN when making a retail purchase. The PIN you create will be your unique 6-digit secret number that is only known to you. This added security feature will reduce the chances of fraud on your cards. Your PIN should be kept safe at all times and should not be shared with anyone including HSBC representatives.
How can I create my PIN?
To generate your cards PIN or change it in the future, please call our Phone Banking services on 19007 and follow the instruction to create the card PIN. Please note that you will need your Phone Banking PIN in order to select your cards PIN. If you do not have a Phone Banking PIN, one of our customer services representatives will assist you to set this up during the call. Only Primary Cardholders will be able to use this facility to generate PINs for both Primary and Supplementary cards. For the updated Phone Banking Map, please visit www.hsbc.com.eg
When do I need to use my PIN?
When you would like to make a purchase in a shop, the merchant will have a Chip and PIN terminal that they will use to process your transaction. We have set out below the process for making payments with merchants using Chip and PIN:
- Before making your payment, hand over your HSBC Chip-enabled cards to the cashier, who will insert your cards into the card reader
- The cashier will key in the correct payment amount
- After confirming the amount, the cashier will hand over the terminal to you
- You will be asked to enter your 6-digit PIN into the terminal. Before doing so, we highly advise you to check that the cashier has entered the correct payment amount in, and ensure no one is looking at the terminal while you are entering your PIN into the terminal and validate it by pressing enter
- Once your PIN has been accepted, a transaction slip will be printed and handed back to you for your records
- Your cards will then be handed back to you
Do I have to sign on the transaction slip?
Sometimes, the merchant may ask you to sign on the receipt even though you have used your Chip and PIN enabled cards. Don’t be concerned when this happens; this is only because the machine used by the merchant is not fully ready for Chip and PIN transactions.
What if the shop does not have a Chip and PIN machine?
Some merchants still do not have the new Chip and PIN devices. When this happens, your cards magnetic stripe will be swiped in to the machine and you will be asked for your signature on the transaction slip.
What happens if I enter the wrong PIN?
If you enter the wrong PIN, your transaction will be declined. If the wrong PIN is entered up to 3 times, you will exceed your re-try attempts and you will have to request for a PIN reset or generate a new PIN through calling our Phone Banking services on 19007 to be able to use your cards.
How many times can I change my PIN?
You can change the PIN as frequently as you wish through calling our Phone Banking services on 19007.
What happens if I do not create a PIN?
If the terminal used by the merchant is Chip and PIN enabled you will not be able to complete the transaction without your PIN. If the terminal used by the merchant is Chip enabled with Signature, the transaction will be processed by reading the chip along with your signature. Please be advised that most terminals used by merchants today are Chip and PIN enabled and we strongly recommend you generate your PIN to enable you to use your cards at all merchant outlets and also ensure increased security.