The Central Bank of Bahrain, in cooperation with the Benefit Company, retail banks and Bahrain Facilities Company, announced the launch of a coding service for operating the encryption feature for contactless payment for smartphones running the Android system. This feature allows payments to be made digitally via POS devices using a smartphone.
This service is characterized by the ease of completing payment transactions, as it is done through the use of the Benefit B app by placing the customer’s smart mobile device close to the point of sale device and completing the transaction without the need to use a plastic bank card, which strengthens the preventive measures and precautionary measures taken by the Central Bank of Bahrain. For ease and speed of payment completion, as well as to contain and prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The encryption service is also characterized by the highest levels of security, as it blocks the card’s data from the other party’s visibility and prevents any party from accessing it, thus the customer is protected from the risk of misuse of the data available on the card and those stored in it. The service does not require any additional data to be stored on the Benefit B app, and all that is required from the customer to activate the service is to update the Benefit B app and specify the card stored in the Benefit B app to activate the service.
On this occasion, Mr. Khalid Hamad Al-Hamad, Executive Director of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of a coding service for contactless payment, which coincides with the current developments in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Al-Hamad expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the licensees who are ready for implementation and the companies that have worked hard during the past months to implement this strategic project. Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company, Bahrain National Bank, Kuwait Finance House, National Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Islamic Bank, Gulf Commercial Bank, Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Al Salam Bank and Arab Bank.
