Desjardins successfully carries out its very first transactions using debit and credit cards equipped with microchips

Lévis (Québec), November 8, 2007 – Desjardins Group, the largest financial institution in Québec, announces the success of its very first electronic payment transactions using credit cards and debit cards equipped with microchip technology.

“These historic transactions have been carried out with success. They mark an important step in moving toward this new technology for electronic payments and banking transactions. Desjardins thus confirms the commitment it has made to its members and clients to offer them an improved and more secure payment system,” stated the vice-president of Desjardins Card Services, Jean Yelle. The chip card effectively offers a higher level of security and better protection against forgery and fraud committed with lost or stolen cards.

As a new feature, transactions made with microchip-equipped credit cards will now be validated using a PIN (personal identification number), so the cardholder will no longer have to sign the receipt. For transactions made using chip debit cards, the procedure will remain nearly unchanged, except that the card will be left in the point-of-sale (POS) terminal reader during the entire transaction instead of only being swiped.

Desjardins is also participating in the trial currently taking place in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, which has brought the entire Canadian payment industry together. This test will enable industry partners to verify the interaction between their cards and devices to ensure that information is properly exchanged between systems.

Desjardins is making steady progress in its transition toward microchip technology. Chip cards will be officially introduced by Desjardins next spring in the Saint-Jérôme region, north of Montréal.

About Desjardins Group

Desjardins Group is the largest integrated cooperative financial group in Canada, with overall assets of more than $143 billion, as of June 30, 2007. It comprises a network of caisses, credit unions and business centres in Québec and Ontario, and some twenty subsidiary companies in life and general insurance, securities brokerage, venture capital and asset management, many of which are active across the country. Drawing on the expertise of its 40,000 employees and the commitment of nearly 6,800 elected officers, Desjardins offers its 5.8 million individual and corporate members and clients a full range of financial products and services. Its physical distribution network is complemented by leading-edge virtual access methods.

- 30 -

Our press releases are available in format

Source (for journalists only):
Nathalie Genest
Advisor, Information and Media Relations
514-281-7275
or 1-866-866-7000, ext. 7275